First Lieutenant Buckley was a crew member on a B-29A Superfortress Bomber with the 344th Bomb Squadron, 98th Bomb Wing. On 30 August 1952, while on a bombing mission, the aircraft crashed four miles north of Taegu, South Korea. All twelve crew members perished. His remains were recovered.

Buckley was awarded the Purple Heart, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.