MSG Henry J. Bausch

Master Sgt. Henry J. Bausch was born on May 3, 1899 at Hoyt, Kansas. He began his military career by enlisting in Company H, Fourth Infantry Regiment, Kansas Army National Guard on October 22, 1918. Since his enlistment came at the war's end, Sergeant Bausch would spend the first 22 years of his military service in the peacetime National Guard. During this period, "Hank" Bausch served the state in various elements of the 137th Infantry Regiment and served in every enlisted rank from private to first sergeant.

When the 137th Infantry Regiment was mobilized on December 23, 1940, Bausch became First Sergeant of the Antitank Company, a unit formed from the old Topeka Howitzer Company. Bausch continued to serve with this unit throughout the stateside service of the 137th and was still with the Antitank Company when the 35th Infantry Division landed in France on July 6, 1944. During his service in the European theater, Bausch saw combat in five major campaigns including Normandy, Northern France, Central Europe, Ardennes, and the Rhineland. He was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in combat and received the Combat Infantryman's Badge.

At the end of the war, "Hank" returned to the United States, and despite the fact that his military obligation had long been fulfilled, he elected to stay in the reserves as a Master Sergeant.

This devotion to duty in the armed services, in addition to his unique ability to work with his men brought credit to him and to the units with which he served. In peace and war, Master Sgt. Henry Bausch was a soldier of special abilities, a quality which brought credit to the service and to the Kansas National Guard.