Hometown: Moravian Falls, NC
Branch: U.S. Army 
Unit: 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division
Military Honors: Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal (3), Army Commendation Medal (2), Army Achievement Medal (3)
Date of Sacrifice: May 14, 2007 - KIA in Teri Mengel, Pakistan
Age: 36
Conflict: War in Afghanistan, 2001-2021

Larry Bauguess grew up playing baseball in the small town of Moravian Falls, North Carolina. After graduating from Wilkes Central High School in 1989, he had hopes of getting a walk-on baseball scholarship with nearby Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.

His dream of playing baseball was not to be. But when walking across campus one day, he saw a Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) class rappelling down a wall. He signed up for the program, which turned out to be a decision that would set the course of his future in more ways than one.

ROTC training is where Bauguess would meet his future wife, Wesley Ann (Hobbs), who was a fellow cadet.

In her book God, Country, Golf: Reflections of An Army Widow, Wesley Hobbs Bauguess recounts: “He was driven to be the best at everything he did. He was a North Carolina boy with the coolest southern drawl. He was smart and funny. At that point, he and I were just friends. Actually, I wouldn’t even call us friends—maybe just fellow cadets. I thought very highly of him but doubted he would even give me the time of day.”

The two married on December 19, 1993, and both joined the U.S. Army. Wesley was assigned to the Medical Service Corps in May of 1994 in the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). She would rise to the rank of Captain and serve on active duty until resigning from her commission in 1999 to start a family. The couple would welcome two daughters: Ryann and Ellie. Wesley continued her military service in the Army Reserves and Individual Ready Reserves until 2004.

Larry received his Active Duty commission into the Infantry in August 1993. He spent his Lieutenant years with the 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment “Rakkasans”—a regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He deployed with them to Saudi Arabia in 1996, following the killing of 19 U.S. airmen in the June 25 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Dhahran.

Later promoted to Captain, Bauguess served a one-year tour in the Republic of Korea, commanding a Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), then returned to the U.S. as an Observer/Controller for the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Fort Polk, Louisiana. While stationed at JRTC, Bauguess also commanded Delta Troop, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), an Opposing Force (OPFOR) unit.

As an Infantry Major, Larry served in the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, as a Future Operations planner, deploying with them in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005.

Continuing his service at Fort Bragg, Larry joined the 82nd Airborne Division as a Battalion Executive Officer for the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment and as a Battalion Operations Officer (S-3) for the 508th Special Troops Battalion (STB)—both of the 4th Brigade Combat Team (BCT).

A highly decorated soldier, Maj. Bauguess told his wife that he was most proud of earning his Ranger Tab and Master Parachutist Badge.

Maj. Bauguess deployed with the 508th STB/4th BCT/82nd Airborne Division in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2007. On May 14 of that year, Bauguess and his commander attended a peace meeting in a tribal region of Pakistan, where they attempted to negotiate peace along the unruly border.

The meeting, which included leadership from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the United States, was successful. The participants reached an agreement. After the meeting, they shook hands, exchanged coins, and posed for pictures.

According to his wife, Wesley, “Larry could have accepted a ride in a senior leader vehicle, but, in true Larry fashion, he stayed behind with his men and boarded a pickup truck instead. Once his men were settled, Larry called in to the helicopters to get their arrival time. As he began to climb into the back of the pick-up truck, without warning, a uniformed Pakistani Frontier Guardsmen, who had the mission of providing security for the meeting, instead raised his rifle and opened fire. Larry stood between the shooter and his men. On his feet, he shielded his men and took the brunt of the assault. Several of his men were wounded that day. Larry gave his life.”

Maj. Bauguess was 36 years old when he sacrificed his life for his country. His daughters were just 6 and 8 years old, at home with Wesley in Fayetteville, North Carolina, when they received the news.

Major Larry John Bauguess Jr. was laid to rest near his hometown. In October of 2010, Fort Bragg dedicated a new Bauguess Child Development Center, named in his honor.

Sources
Details submitted by Ms. Wesley Hobbs Bauguess—Maj. Baugess’s Gold Star Wife
Folds of Honor Presents the story of Wesley Bauguess (Video)
Wesley Hobbs Bauguess: God, Country, Golf: Reflections of an Army Widow
Military Times, Honor the Fallen: Army Maj. Larry J. Bauguess Jr.
Major Larry J. Bauguess Jr. Memorial Fund: About Larry
Together We Served: Bauguess, Larry John, Jr.
U.S. Army: Fort Bragg opens new child development center
The Patriot All-America: Soldier Honored: Larry J. Bauguess, Jr.
Reins-Sturdivant Funeral Home: Major Larry John Bauguess, Jr.
The News and Observer, May 16, 2007: Officer inspired by rappelling is killed
Burial Site: Find a Grave