Memorial Day Weekend - Part I

This weekend, I honor all those who have died in service to our country by paying tribute to a fallen hero who is forever associated with Forward Operating Base Shank. Today I want to show you how the Army honored Major Larry J. Bauguess, Jr. by showing that his name lives on at FOB Shank. You can also learn more about MAJ Bauguess at the Major Larry J Bauguess, Jr. Memorial Fund website.

Bauguess Clinic - FOB Shank, Logar Province, Afghanistan

Major Bauguess was killed in action on 14 MAY 2007 in Teri Mengel, Pakistan. He was based out of FOB Gardez, with the 82nd Airborne, 4th Brigade Combat Team. 

Bauguess Clinic - FOB Shank, Logar Province, Afghanistan

So, I was curious. How did Major Bauguess' name become honored as a Battalion Aid Station in FOB Shank - a place that he never saw? 

Guidon outside Bauguess Clinic - FOB Shank, Logar Province, Afghanistan

As I took these photos, I bumped into Chaplain Rodriguez of the 173d Airborne. Chaplain Rodriguez just so happened to be deployed with the 82nd Airborne in 2007 at FOB Gardez, where MAJ Bauguess served. CPT Rodriguez explained to me that a few months after MAJ Bauguess' death, the 4th BCT took over FOB Shank. At that time, FOB Shank was little more than a tiny combat outpost (it is quickly becoming the largest FOB in Afghanistan). Nonetheless, because of this move, MAJ Bauguess' name has now become part of FOB Shank history. 

Bauguess Clinic - FOB Shank, Logar Province, Afghanistan

Bauguess Clinic - FOB Shank, Logar Province, Afghanistan

As you walk into the clinic, just midway down the main hallway on the left, you see the plaque shown above and below. When I first arrived at Shank, I saw this clinic and read the plaque. I am honored to show it to everyone on this Memorial Day weekend, 2010. I have reproduced the text of the plaque in italics for easier reading.

Bauguess Clinic - FOB Shank, Logar Province, Afghanistan

05/15/07

82^nd Airborne Division Paratrooper, Major Larry Bauguess of Moravian Falls, N.C. died from injuries sustained from enemy small arms fire in Teri Mengel, Pakistan Monday. The 36-year-old was the operation officer for the 4^th Brigade Combat Team’s Special Troops Battalion.

Bauguess graduated from Appalachian State University in 1993 and received his commission in July 1993. “He was where he wanted to be; next to his Commander, on the ground, in the fight,” said Maj. Kenneth J. Ratashak, Executive Officer, 508^th STB. “If he knew (today) would turn out the way it did, he would have gone anyway. That’s just who he was.” Bauguess’ military schools include the Infantry Officer’s Basic Course, the Air Assault Course, and the Ranger Course completed in 1994. He completed the Strategic Mobile Planning Course in 1997, the U.S. Army Jumpmaster Course in 2000, and the Command and General Staff College in 2006.

He arrived to the 82^nd Abn. Div. in May 2006 and was assigned as the Company Executive Officer for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2^nd Bn., 508^th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4^th Brigade Combat Team. In December 2006 he was reassigned to the 4^th BSTB as the Operations Officer. “He played games like Tic-Tac-Toe with his daughters every night, when possible. He would put the game on a Power Point slide, fill in his move and then email it off to them. Then the next day he would get an email back with their moves filled in,” said Ratashak.

Another officer who worked with Bauguess, Capt. Justin Raphael, remembered his boss and friend as a very approachable leader who was a great guy to work for. He was very down-to-earth and he would never ask a soldier to do anything he would not do himself said Raphael. In 1997, Bauguess deployed to Saudi Arabia for four months. He has one previous deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom with the XVIII Airborne Corps in 2005.

His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Army Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, the National Defense Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Korean Defense Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Expert Infantryman Badge, the Master Parachutist Badge, the Air Assault Badge, and the Ranger Tab. Bauguess is survived by his wife, Wesley Bauguess, and daughters, Ryann and Ellie Bauguess, all of Fayettville, N.C.; and his parents, Larry and Martha Bauguess.

In honor of this fallen hero, Task Force Diablo will be having a Memorial Service today at 2:20 p.m. at Forward Operating Base Gardez.

Larry was a man of great personal faith. He was raised in his church in Moravian Falls, NC, and he grew up in a loving Christian home. It was this faith which became the bedrock of our relationship. He was able to express his faith in God to me so clearly, and it became a bond that sustained our family. We truly believe that, now, he’ll watch over us as our own personal angel.

As a father and husband, Larry was amazing. He managed to achieve a remarkable balance in his life. He made sure our daughters understood the importance of everything that was happening within our family. He saw it as his duty to maintain a very strong connection with the girls. When he talked to them, he wouldn’t do it standing above them. He would physically get down on their level. He was so good at talking to them and playing with them. He enjoyed letting everything else go and focusing on them. In his Mother’s Day email to me, he said, “thank you, Wesley, thank you for allowing me to be a Paratrooper in the US Army. I am very proud of you and all that you do for me, our children and all the troopers of this battalion. I miss you but love you so much more.” He never ended a phone call or email without personally acknowledging each of us and telling each of us, “I love you.”

Wild poppy just outside Bauguess Clinic - FOB Shank, Logar Province, Afghanistan

The red poppy above grows wild in Afghanistan (so much so that you can see it growing inside FOB Shank). Most of us now only associate it with the drug trade. However, the red poppy is the traditional flower to be placed at the burial site of our men and women who were killed while in service to their country. Moina Michael is credited with the 1915 idea of wearing red poppies on Memorial day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. You can read more about Memorial Day history here.