SgtMaj Richard Bugda passed away May 21

Richard Bugda

From Issabelle Bugda, daughter.
Just after midnight on May 21, my father, SgtMaj Richard A. Bugda USMC passed away after a two year battle with cancer.

He was fiercely devoted to my mom, Mary. She is and has always been the center of his universe. He was his happiest when she was next to him. He loved loving her. I know more than anything else, she was what he fought for most.

To my brother and I, he was the quintessential guiding force of a father. He was firm, fair, loving and almost embarrassingly supportive. He was an endless pit of hidden talents that always left us perplexed and in awe.

He took it up another notch as a warm and wise grandfather. Griffin, Issabelle, Chase and Eli have been blessed to have known him for such a long time. The only thing he loved more than being a grandfather was telling people how much he loved being a grandfather. He beamed when he bragged about them. Hyperbole is always best when delivered with love.

To the Marines, Sailors, Soldiers and Airmen across the world, he was a relentless warrior, an unselfish teacher and a legendary leader. Many were humbled to stand in his shadow and some trembled to stand in his doorway. He swore like a sailor, pontificated like a philosopher and made us all swoon with that silky smooth voice.

One of the greatest mysteries in life is and always will be the strange and convoluted mix of human emotions you felt after having your ass chewed so magnificently you walked away feeling inspired and uplifted. His most notable talent was challenging and inspiring the very best in all those who served with him.

He will be remembered for his sense of humor, quick wit, sharp tongue and pointed perspectives. I will remember him with a crushing mixture of joy, sadness and pride. He was my dad. He was my friend. And for a short while, we were brothers in arms as Marines. He taught me so much. I will never be able to repay him for what he gave me.
Because of him, I am a better…we all are.
I love you dad.

From MGySgt. Ed Evans, USMC (Ret.)

One of the great voices of United States Marine Corps broadcasting has been stilled. A dynamic mentor, a stalwart example of living leadership, one who exemplified what it means to be a Marine, a husband, a father, grandfather, a man, has been set aside, raised up into the heavens to join those who have gone before him. We shall see him again, but we shall not see his like on this earth for a very long time. It takes extreme pressure and finite will to produce such a man as Richard Bugda. To his Marines he was always Sergeant Major quality, long before he earned the stripes. He was always teaching, his Commanding Officers, his equals, his Marines, always aware of who he was, whom he was expected to be by those who followed in his footsteps. To his everlasting credit, all over the Marine Corps and into the civilian ranks, those who served with him and under him will step into his footsteps and carry on in like manner as they have seen in the person of Sergeant Major Richard Bugda. We can do him no less honor that to continue the march forward as he would have done. Stand, gentleman, this was a United States Marine, one of those courageous few in his generation to whom his oath as a Marine was everything, giving way only when he did.

Stand at ease, Sergeant Major, take your rest. We who follow behind you have the watch. You set a good course. Take your rest, and we will see you at Guard Mount. Semper Fi. Do or die.