Bill Pierce’s Prep almanac

Many young men and women have gone from the playing fields of high school to serve their country in times of conflict. Archie Buckley made the ultimate sacrifice.

 Buckley was born and raised in Colville. He graduated in 1926 from Colville High, where he was a star three-sport athlete. Following high school, he attended Washington State College, where he played third base on the baseball team, forward in basketball and quarterback on the football team.

The high point of his college career was quarterbacking the Cougars to a come-from-behind 20-13 victory over the University of Washington in 1929. At the end of the season he was awarded the J. Fred Bohler award for his inspirational play.

After college, and following a brief stint as football coach at Chehalis, Buckley moved to North Central, where he began a successful career coaching baseball, basketball and football.

In 1943, with the country fighting on two fronts in World War II, Buckley took a leave of absence from NC and joined the Navy. He was at first in charge of physical conditioning at Saint Mary’s Pre-Flight School in California, and later assigned duty aboard the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga in the South Pacific.

On Feb. 21, 1945, the Saratoga was heading to join the forces attacking Iwo Jima. Under a Japanese kamikaze air attack, the Saratoga sustained five direct bomb hits and 123 of the crew were left dead or missing. Buckley was among the missing and his body was never recovered.  Surviving crew members said his actions during the battle saved the lives of several men.

Lt. Buckley was awarded the Bronze Star, Navy Cross and Purple Heart and is remembered in memorials in Hawaii and Colville. He was inducted into the Washington State Hall of Fame in 1984.

“If ever a coach lived who felt the pain and delight of his charges, who scaled the heights with them and descended with them to the depths, it was the fiery mentor from North Central High School,” the Spokane Daily Chronicle wrote.