Brucker served in France during World War I with the 166th Infantry, 42d Division, in the Château Thierry, St. Mihiel, and Meuse-Argonne operations, 1917–1918.

He received the Silver Star and Purple Heart, and remained a member of the Officer Reserve Corps until 1937.

Also Michigan enacted legislation that allowed grand juries to investigate allegations of municipal government fraud and mismanagement.

[7][8] He was a member of the law firm of Clark, Klein, Brucker, and Waples, 1937–1954, and served as General Counsel of the Department of Defense from 1954 to 1955, during the Army–McCarthy hearings.

[9] In 1955, Brucker was appointed by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower as Secretary of the Army, serving from July 21, 1955, to January 19, 1961.