Dennis M. Bauer

Vietnam War

Denny Bauer was born in Carroll, IA on February 6, 1945, to Herman and Alita (Stangl) Bauer. He attended St. Mary School in Willey and later worked on the family farm.

Denny was inducted into the US Army on April 26, 1965, as the US involvement in Vietnam was ramping up. Denny was assigned serial number 17 715 211. He enlisted in a program that allowed him to select training as a military policeman. He was sent to Fort Leonard Wood, MO for basic training and then to Fort Gordon, near Augusta, GA. Fort Gordon was the home of the Provost Marshall at that time and the center of MP training.

By September, 1965, Denny was sent to Europe to join the US Army participation in NATO. These forces were deployed to prevent Soviet aggression into Western Europe. Denny was assigned to 2nd Platoon, Company A of the 793rd Military Police Battalion. His initial assignment was at Schweinfurt, West Germany in Bavaria. Sometime later, his unit was moved south about 60 miles to Storok Barracks in Illesheim.

At the beginning of 1968, a new First Secretary of the Communist Party was elected in Czechoslovakia that liberalized many facets of life. This became known as the Prague Spring. This quickly escalated to a confrontation with the Soviet Union. Denny’s unit became a “sister” unit with the Feldjaeger Battalion 760, a West German military police unit, to share resources. As tensions grew, Denny’s enlistment ended and he was discharged from the US Army on April 6, 1968, with a rank of SP4 (specialist fourth class). In August, 1968, Soviet troops and tanks crushed the uprising in Prague.

Denny returned to Carroll County. On May 17, 1969, he was married to Judy Goetzinger at Sacred Heart Church in Templeton. In 1970, the couple moved to Templeton. Denny worked for Farner Bocken in Carroll for over 20 years. He died in Templeton on December 6, 1991 at age 46. He was buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Templeton.