Joe Bauer is a retired veteran who spent a lifetime career giving back to his country. In retirement, he is spending his time giving back to his community.Bauer was born in 1935 in Bath, Pennsylvania, a small town about 60 miles north of Philadelphia; which, ironically, has a reputation for being dirty and dusty. Bauer said the dust and dirt came from 12 cement factories, all of them located within a 15-mile radius. ìThe cement dust was all over the place,î he said. ìIf you collected it all; in about two years, you could build yourself a house for free.îThe cement business put food on the table for the Bauers. ìMy grandfather and my father both worked in the cement factories,î Bauer said.When Bauer was 4 years old, his parents divorced, and he and his mother moved to her parentsí home in Northampton, Pennsylvania; his father went to England after being drafted. In 1942, Bauer and his mother moved to Washington, D.C., where she had landed a job with the United States Department of the Army. A couple years later, Bauerís mother was diagnosed with tuberculosis and hospitalized in a sanitarium in Maryland. Bauer went with his father and returned to Bath. Two years later, after the hospital released Bauerís mother, he went back to Northampton with her. In 1953, Bauer graduated from Nazareth High School; and, that same year, joined the Pennsylvania National Guard.Bauer also attended Bethlehem Business School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to study accounting. During that period, his cousin introduced him to Harriet (now Mrs. Bauer). ìShe told my cousin that she was going to marry me,î Bauer said. In 1957, they married in Bath, and a year later, they welcomed their first child, Joseph.In 1960, Bauer was accepted to the Pennsylvania National Guard Officer Program. ìI was one of 60 in the class and one of 28 that ultimately graduated,î he said.The following year, Bauer and his wife had a second son, Michael.In 1964, Bauer, who had been working in a cement mill, moved to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to attend field artillery school. Pregnant with their third child, Harriett had stayed in Bath while Bauer attended school. ìI liked the military, and I really wanted to stay with it,î he said. ìBut this is one of those professions that if your spouse isnít with you, it just doesnít go.î His spouse agreed to the military life; and, in July 1964, Bauer was assigned to Fort Dix, New Jersey, eventually receiving orders for Germany. Because of the impending birth of their third child, orders for Germany were deferred ó a few weeks later, daughter Antoinette was born.Soon after, Bauer went to Germany and brought his family later on. On Dec. 23, the five of them settled into their new home in Butzbach. In 1966, the family moved to Rothweston, Germany; shortly after, Bauer received orders for Vietnam; and, in 1967, his family returned to Pennsylvania. Assigned to the 6th Battalion 29th Artillery 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam, he became a battalion intelligence officer and six months later a fire support officer with another division.ìThat was the best job I ever had,î he said. ìI worked for a very interesting individual named William Tombaugh (the infantry battalion commander). He never went anywhere without me.î On May 28, 1968, Bauer and Tombaugh were shot down near the Vietnamese village of Dak To. Their helicopter made a soft landing in elephant grass, but the two were surrounded by the North Vietnamese Army. Within minutes, they boarded another U.S. helicopter and flew to safe ground. ìI can honestly say that what we did to support that unit saved a lot of American lives,î he said.In September 1968, Bauer returned to the United States to the Air Defense School in Fort Bliss, Texas. About a year later, Bauer received a letter stating that a change in military regulations meant he would have to get a college degree. Bauer attended the University of Nebraska in Omaha, and received his bachelorís degree, with an emphasis in accounting and economics.In 1970, Bauer and his wife had their fourth child, Mark.In August 1971, after advisor training and language school in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Bauer received orders for another year-long deployment to Vietnam. Following Vietnam, Bauer returned to Fort Bliss for antiballistic missile school.Two years later, Bauer and his family moved to Nekoma, a small town in North Dakota. ìThere were only 85 people there,î he said. ìAll retired farmers.î The Nekoma Safeguard Complex shut down within two years, and Bauer and his family returned to Germany.From Germany, the Bauers moved to Fort Lewis, Washington, in 1979. Bauer was promoted to lieutenant colonel and served in the Air Defense Office. In 1983 Bauer and his family made one last move to Fort Monroe, Virginia, where he was assigned to the threat directorate division. Bauer retired in 1987, after 30 years of service.During the first years of his retirement, Bauer said he spent his time playing golf, until one day when he received an invitation from his neighbor to attend a free lunch hosted by the Exchange Club. Bauer joined the club; and, within six months, became the clubís treasurer ó a job he held for three years. He then served as the president-elect and eventually as president. ìThen, for the first time in the 50 years that the club existed, I did back-to-back presidencies,î he said. ìThat was not the norm.î Bauer went on from there to serve as the district president.After living in Virginia almost two decades, the Bauers wanted to be closer to their two sons who had moved to Colorado. In 2000, they bought a lot in Woodmen Hills in Falcon. They rented a house in Colorado Springs while their home was under construction; and, in 2004, they moved into their finished home.Bauer had transferred his Exchange Club membership to the Colorado Springs club, and then realized an opportunity to start a new club in Falcon. The Exchange Club is focused on community service, and has numerous committees, each dedicated to a particular cause. The clubís Americanism committee promotes patriotism, supports veterans and the right to vote, as well as placing freedom shrines that include documents of historical significance in American history in various institutions. ìWe have put freedom shrines in area schools and the High Prairie library,î he said. ìAnd we hand out flags for free during the Veteranís Day Parade.îThe clubís child abuse committee focuses on child abuse prevention. The committee uses a mannequin to demonstrate how shaken baby syndrome can result in injury and death. The committee also supports TESSA (which assists abused and neglected women and children), CASA (court appointed special advocates), the El Paso County Sheriffís Department and the Falcon Fire Protection District. ìWe give clothes for kids to the sheriffís department and we do the Angel Tree at TESSA,î he said. ìWe also give the Firefighter of the Year Award.îBauer is the president-elect of the Falcon Exchange Club, the awards committee chairman and a member of the youth committee. ìThere is a certain personal satisfaction that comes with helping out the community that you live in,î he said.When the Bauers are not busy with the Exchange Club, they volunteer at St. Benedict Catholic Church in Falcon or go ìcruising,î he said. ìWe have been on several cruises Ö to the Caribbean, Alaska, Australia/New Zealand and the Mediterranean.î They have seen many beautiful landscapes, but Bauer said nothing beats the view of Pikes Peak from their home in Falcon.
