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Harold W. Bauer | |
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 Lieutenant Harold W. Bauer in the early 1930s | |
| Birth name | Harold William Bauer |
| Nickname(s) | "Indian Joe", "Coach" |
| Born | (1908-11-20)November 20, 1908 Woodruff, Kansas, United States |
| Died | November 14, 1942(1942-11-14) (aged 33) NearGuadalcanal, Solomon Islands |
| Buried | remains not recovered. Memorialized on the Walls of the Missing,Manila American Cemetery |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service |  United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1926–1942 |
| Rank |  Lieutenant colonel |
| Commands | Marine Fighter Squadron 212 |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
| Awards |  Medal of Honor Purple Heart |
Harold William "Joe" Bauer (November 20, 1908 – November 14, 1942) was aUnited States Marine Corps air group commander, fighter pilot andflying ace credited with destroying 11 Japanese aircraft duringWorld War II. He wasposthumously awarded theMedal of Honor for his actions as a fighter squadron commander during the crucial struggle for the control of the Solomon Islands at theBattle of Guadalcanal.[1]
Harold William Bauer was born inWoodruff, Kansas, on 20 November 1908 and grew up inNorth Platte, Nebraska. He was the son ofVolga German immigrants and had two brothers and two sisters. In high school, he playedfootball,track andbaseball.
Bauer entered theUnited States Naval Academy in 1926 and was appointed aMarinesecond lieutenant upon graduation in 1930. Bauer's two younger brothers also followed him into the Academy.[1] Following his commissioning, Bauer attended the OfficersBasic School atQuantico,Virginia. He was then assigned as a company officer with the1st Battalion, 6th Marines at Quantico.
In 1932, he became assistantbasketball andlacrosse coach at the Naval Academy and an instructor in marksmanship, until his assignment to the San Diego Naval Base, where he was the Assistant Range Officer. He was promoted to first lieutenant on 29 May 1934.
He was then assigned to theNaval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, in December 1934 where he earned hiswings of gold as anaval aviator in February 1936. He was promoted to captain on June 30, 1937, and served with several squadrons at Quantico includingMarine Scouting Squadron 1 (VMS-1) andMarine Fighting Squadron 1 (VMF-1). Bauer was transferred to theNaval Air Station San Diego,California, in June 1940 where he served as executive officer ofVMF-221. While stationed at San Diego, he participated in carrier group exercises on theUSS Lexington (CV-2) andUSS Saratoga (CV-3). The 7 December 1941attack on Pearl Harbor found Bauer and VMF-221 preparing to embark aboard theSaratoga for transport to Hawaii.
Following the Japanese attack onPearl Harbor, Bauer and VMF-221 were transported to Hawaii and were slated to reinforceWake Island, but were diverted toMidway after Wake fell. Transferred to Hawaii in February 1942, Bauer took command ofVMF-211, stationed atMarine Corps Air Station Ewa, and on 1 March 1942 commissioned and took command ofVMF-212. Promoted to major on 29 April 1942, Bauer and VMF-212 were deployed to the South Pacific and were stationed atNew Caledonia, and laterEfate, Vanuatu. Although still the commanding officer of VMF-212, Bauer was also responsible for the operation of the airfield the squadron operated from and was utilized to select possible sites for additional airfields in the South Pacific. Bauer's promotion tolieutenant colonel, after only three months as a major, was effective 7 August.
On 28 September 1942, Bauer performed the first feat cited for the Medal of Honor. His squadron was attacked by a superior force of Japanese planes. He engaged the enemy and shot down one of their bombers. Again attacking a superior force on 3 October 1942, he shot down four of the enemy and left a fifth badly damaged.
While leading a reinforcement flight on 16 October 1942, fromEspirito Santo, Vanuatu toGuadalcanal, 600 miles (970 km) away, Bauer was about to land atHenderson Field when he noticed a squadron of Japanese planes attacking theUSSMcFarland (AVD-14) offshore. Though the long flight from Espirito Santo had almost exhausted his fuel and he knew no friendly planes were able to assist him, he immediately proceeded alone to attack the enemy and succeeded in destroying four of them before lack of gasoline forced him to return to Henderson Field.
On 14 November 1942, he was shot down over water after downing two enemy aircraft in an attack 100 miles (160 km) off Guadalcanal. He was seen in the water in hisMae West water flotation device as light was fading. He did not appear to be seriously hurt. The following morning began days of intense searching by planes and Russell Island natives, but no further trace of him was found.[2]
The squadron under his command at Guadalcanal was officially credited with downing 92 Japanese planes and helping to sink two destroyers. Lieutenant Colonel Bauer was commended for his action in the South Pacific by commanders of Army, Navy and Marine Corps units including AdmiralWilliam F. Halsey, Jr., then Commander of the South Pacific Area and South Pacific Force.
Bauerfield International Airport inPort Vila,Vanuatu andUSS Bauer is named in his honor.
Bauer's medals and decorations include:[1]
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The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to
for service as set forth in the following CITATION:
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Microsoft Games Studios, March 2000. Retrieved: August 3, 2011.
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