Courtesy
of the Piedmont Chapter, Georgia Sons of the American Revolution:
COLONEL ROBERT W. BAUCHSPIES (1932-2006)
Our Past President, Colonel Bob Bauchspies,
died peacefully on December 22, 2006 following a long illness.
Bob was born on an Army Post at Carlisle
Barracks, Pennsylvania on 17 May 1932, the third son of five boys and a
girl to a Regular Army doctor as “Army Brats.”
He recounts attending eleven different schools throughout the
United States until graduation from high school.
“The longest we were ever in one place was during World War II, when in
1942 Dad left for England to take command of the first U.S. hospital to
enter the European Theater during Operation Torch, the invasion of North
Africa, returning home in mid-1945 after VE Day.
Later, in 1948, while Bob’s dad was Surgeon,
Third Army, at Fort McPherson, the family began to go their separate
ways to college. Bob graduated from College
Park High School in 1949, and that summer enlisted in the Naval Reserve
V-6 Program. He underwent “boot camp” at the Naval Air Station, Atlanta,
and was assigned to a squadron as a “weekend warrior.” Many things were
in motion. The Korean Conflict broke out. Bob’s two older brothers were
at Georgia Tech as Midshipmen under the Holloway scholarship. Bob left
for Penn State, and the rest of the family relocated to the Presidio, San
Francisco as his Dad left for Korea with an 18 month tour as Surgeon.
Being a family of a doctor and a mother who
was a registered nurse, it may seem strange that none of the “Bauchspies
Boys” entered into medicine; however they all entered into the armed forces
gaining Regular Commissions, and went to Korea. Bob received a commission
from Penn State ROTC in the Corps of Engineers and in 1954 was assigned
to Japan. His two younger brothers, Jim and Dick,
both graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in ’56 and ’58, and, to top
that off, his sister , Kathie, the youngest in the family, married a Regular
Army Officer.
Two of Bob’s nephews are currently on active
duty as Regular Army Majors, one recently returned from 13 months in Iraq
as a Stryker Company Commander and the other, Rollie Miller (a member of
the William Few SAR Chapter) is on orders from the Pentagon to go to Europe.
All totaled, The Bauchspies family has contributed close to 175 years of
continuous active commissioned service to the nation. All have served at
least one tour incountry during combat. Now that’s another story.
During Bob’s 30 years of active service, he
has served normal command and staff assignments within the U.S. and seven
overseas assignments. He was a Combat Engineer and during his tour in Vietnam
, ‘67-’68, he served as
the Assistant Division Engineer with the 4th
Infantry Division located in the Central Highlands tri-border area of
Laos, Cambodia and South Vietnam. It was also
the time of the “Tet” Offensive.
Having not been together for 16 years, Bob
was able to meet with Jim and Dick as Dick entered Vietnam for
his second tour. Although all four were in-country
at the same time, they were not in the same units. Dick’s arrival at
the Replacement Center in 1968 was the only
time they were all together.
Bob retired from the service in 1984 with the
rank of Colonel after having served as Chief, Systems Analysis and
Evaluation Directorate, Ballistic Missile
Defense Program Office with the Army General Staff, the Pentagon. His
last overseas assignment, ‘78-’79, was as
Commander, Joint Task Force, Defense Nuclear Agency, Enewetak Atoll,
in the Marshall Islands. The atoll had been
used as an experimental site for the expenditure of 43 atomic weapons
and the first H-Bomb in the 1950’s.
Bob’s 13 month assignment was to clean up the
residual radiation in the atoll’s 47 islands, restore the atoll, and
return it to the Marshallese people. This
was done. A few years ago Bob was asked , what was the most significant
thing about his military career. He replied,
“That we all came back o.k.”
Bob transferred to the Piedmont Chapter upon
his relocation to Georgia in 1995. He has served first as Chairman,
ROTC and Knight Essay Committees and was elected
as Chapter Secretary, VP and President. While serving as VP Bob wrote the
Chapter’s Bylaws and Constitution and the Committee Descriptions as they
appear in our Membership Directory.
While he served as Chapter President the Chapter
won the coveted President General’s Cup, the President General’s
Activities Award, USS Stark Award, Liberty
Bell, etc. He restored the Chapter’s “Piedmont Piper” newsletter and
appointed the Editor as an officer of the
chapter. That Editor, Compatriot Paul Simpson, won the Carl F. Bessant
Award for having the best multi-sheet newsletter
in the National Society for that year. Bob was the first Commander
of the Chapter Color Guard and initiated such
activities as leading the Old Soldiers Day Parade and the Presentation
of the Colors at the Patriotic Concert held
annually by the Roswell Methodist Church.
On the GASSAR level, Bob was appointed Chairman
of the Knight Essay Committee and gained increased recognition
of our State winners. He also was appointed
Chairman of the JROTC and ROTC programs, which he combined into one program.
While serving as a GASSAR VP, Bob cofounded the Casmir Pulaski SAR Chapter
in Carrollton along with Compatriot “Dutch” Dreyer and served as the founding
secretary. During this time he remained a Dual Member with Piedmont.
Bob says his most precious award was
in finding his wife, the former Karin Wiel Jorgensen of Stabekk, Norway,
while Bob and Karen were serving their respective
governments in Turkey. Their marriage of 46 years has been
blessed with three children: Karin Ann, Bob,
Jr. and Donna as well as six grandchildren Bob and Karin find the
Atlanta area much to their liking and enjoy
their home in the Windward Community of Alpharetta.
Quite a trip, Colonel Bob!
BAUCHSPIES, ROBERT W
COL US ARMY
VIETNAM
DATE OF BIRTH: 05/17/1932
DATE OF DEATH: 12/22/2006
BURIED AT: SECTION 66 SITE 5014
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
Webmaster: Michael
Robert Patterson
Posted:
18 March 2009 |
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