Medal of Honor: Harold William Bauer, World War II, May 10 – November 14, 1942

Name: Harold William Bauer
Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
War: World War II
Date of Action: May 10 – November 14, 1942
Unit: Marine Fighting Squadron 212 (VMF-212), U.S. Marine Corps
Born: November 20, 1908 – Woodruff, Kansas
Entered Service From: Nebraska

Summary of Action
In the savage struggle for Guadalcanal’s skies, Marine ace Harold “Joe” Bauer led by example and sheer audacity. As commander of VMF-212, he repeatedly flew into outnumbered dogfights, using his skill and nerve to keep Japanese aircraft from overwhelming the hard-pressed Marines below. On September 28, 1942, he shot down a bomber attacking Henderson Field. Less than a week later, on October 3, he single-handedly destroyed four enemy fighters and left a fifth trailing smoke.

His courage was relentless. On October 16, after personally leading twenty-six planes on a 600-mile over-water flight, Bauer spotted a Japanese air attack on the destroyer USS McFarland just as he was preparing to land. Running low on fuel and completely alone, he dove straight into the fight. In the swirling combat that followed, he shot down four more enemy aircraft before his own fuel ran out, forcing him down at sea. Bauer’s fearless aggression and self-sacrifice made him one of the Marine Corps’ most revered fighter leaders and a symbol of the grit that turned the tide at Guadalcanal.

Medal of Honor Citation
BAUER, HAROLD WILLIAM
Rank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps. Born: 20 November 1908, Woodruff, Kans. Appointed from: Nebraska.
Citation: For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous courage as Squadron Commander of Marine Fighting Squadron 212 in the South Pacific Area during the period 10 May to 14 November 1942. Volunteering to pilot a fighter plane in defense of our positions on Guadalcanal, Lt. Col. Bauer participated in two air battles against enemy bombers and fighters outnumbering our force more than two to one, boldly engaged the enemy and destroyed one Japanese bomber in the engagement of 28 September and shot down four enemy fighter planes in flames on 3 October, leaving a fifth smoking badly. After successfully leading twenty-six planes on an over-water ferry flight of more than six hundred miles on 16 October, Lt. Col. Bauer, while circling to land, sighted a squadron of enemy planes attacking the USS McFarland. Undaunted by the formidable opposition and with valor above and beyond the call of duty, he engaged the entire squadron and, although alone and his fuel supply nearly exhausted, fought his plane so brilliantly that four of the Japanese planes were destroyed before he was forced down by lack of fuel. His intrepid fighting spirit and distinctive ability as a leader and an airman, exemplified in his splendid record of combat achievement, were vital factors in the successful operations in the South Pacific Area.