Lewis Kenneth Bausell was born on 17 April 1924 in Pulaski, Virginia. Having completed his education, he moved to Washington, D.C., from where he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in December 1941, shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into World War II. After basic training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina, he was ordered to the First Marine Division at Camp Lejuene, North Carolina. In March 1942 Bausell was promoted to Private First Class and departed with the Fifth Marines for the Pacific in May. A month later, while at Wellington, New Zealand, he was promoted to Corporal. Beginning with the Guadalcanal-Tulagi invasion in August, he took part in the bitter struggle for Guadalcanal.
Withdrawn from Guadalcanal in late 1942, Corporal Bausell's unit went to Australia for several months of rest and training, then was sent to New Guinea. In December 1943 he landed with the Fifth Marines at Cape Gloucester, New Britain to participate in the fighting on that island. He took part in operations to seize the Willaumez Peninsula and an airstrip at Talasea, both also on New Britain, in the Spring of 1944.
Later that Spring, Corporal Bausell relocated to Pavuvu Island to prepare for the next campaign, which would be the invasion of Peleliu, Palau Islands. Soon after landing there on 15 September 1944, while his squad charged a hostile pillbox to flush out the Japanese defenders, the enemy hurled a grenade among the Marines. Immediately, Bausell threw himself on it, saving the lives of his men. The mortally wouned Corporal was evacuated to the attack transport DuPage, where he died on 18 September and was buried at sea. For his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity", he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Lewis K. Bausell is listed on the American Battle Monument Commission's Wall of the Missing at Manila Cemetery, Manila, Philippines.
USS Bausell (DD-845), 1946-1987, was named in honor of Corporal Lewis K. Bausell.
This page features the only image we have concerning Lewis K. Bausell.
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Medal of Honor citation of Corporal Lewis K. Bausell, USMC (as printed in the official publication "Medal of Honor, 1861-1949, The Navy", page 155): |
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Page made 5 April 2008