Captain Buckner was a crew member of a B-29A Superfortress with the 371st Bomber Squadron, 307th Bomber Wing. On April 7, 1951, while on a bombing mission, his aircraft was attacked by two MiGs. It crashed about four miles off the North Korean coastline. He was listed as Missing in Action and was presumed dead on January 31, 1954. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.