Larry James Baughman, Colonel United States Army (Ret)

Larry was born in Osborne Kansas on February 17, 1931 to Theodore R. Baughman and Elisabeth (Wurth) Baughman (Wagner).  Larry was a loving father, devoted Catholic and true Patriot.   May he rest in peace with our Savior Jesus Christ.

Larry was born during the Great Depression and like most people during that time, he grew up poor.  His father died when he was 2 years old and his mother became unable to care for the family and was forced to place Larry and his siblings into foster care for several years.  During that time he was fostered to a farm family where he learned and developed his farming skills and interest.

Colonel Baughman entered military service in 1950 after graduating from Salina High School in Salina Kansas.  Initially he joined the Air Force, but transferred into the Army through acceptance into the Officer Candidate School (OCS). Larry graduated 3rd in his class of 100 candidates and was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the United States Army on October 17, 1952. Larry graduated as an infantry paratrooper from Airborne school in November of 1952 and Ranger School in June of 1953.

Larry married Marjorie on October 3, 1953 and after their honeymoon he was deployed to Korea where he served as the executive officer in a rifle company that was deployed on the front line in North Korea. Later in 1955, he was again deployed to Korea and promoted to company commander of an infantry company deployed to the main line of resistance.

Upon returning from his second tour of duty in the Korean war, Larry applied to and was accepted into the Army Aviation training program.  The Army was developing a new way of fighting that utilized helicopters and he was part of the early program development referred to as "Air Assault".  This program utilized helicopters to take enemy territory by quickly deploy soldiers behind enemy lines. In 1958 Larry and the entire family moved to Germany where he served as an aviation company commander.

The family returned to the United States and from 1961 to 1963, Larry served as an aircraft armament test pilot.  Specifically testing various helicopter weapon systems as well as being certified to fly multi-engine aircraft such as the Mohawk.

Going to night school, Larry earned his bachelor's degree in 1964 from the University of Nebraska. In 1965 he graduated from the Command and General Staff College and was promoted to Major. Later that year he was deployed to Vietnam for his first tour of duty with a combat aviation battalion (CAB).

An aviation battalion usually consisted of 3 helicopter companies. Each company had 3 helicopter platoons and each platoon consisted of 10 to 15 helicopters. The battalion usually operated 70 to 90 helicopters. To support the company there were aircraft mechanics, administrative personnel, intelligence personnel, and other support personnel, as well as the air assault soldiers. The number of operational helicopters always fluctuated because they were constantly being damaged by enemy fire. Missions usually consisted of a flight of assault transport helicopters that were escorted by helicopter gunships and the command and control helicopter gunship. Larry was responsible for planning the flight to and from the battlefield. The flight into the battlefield was preceded by bombardment from any available tactical assets in the area which at times included Air force B52 strikes, Air force tactical air support, long range artillery from fire bases, helicopter gunships, and naval ships (if they were close enough). This allowed the assault to come in with relative safety. The problems arose when the battalion would come in to pick up the assault force from the battlefield. It was impossible to provide long range covering fire and the helicopters then had to provide their own covering fire.

In 1966 Larry returned from Vietnam and the family was moved to Canada for his next assignment.

In 1968 Larry was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. And in 1969 he was deployed to Vietnam again. Interestingly this deployment was part of his promotional progression. He met with Army officials and was notified that he was required to take a posting at the Pentagon for his promotion, or instead he could return to Vietnam as a combat aviation battalion commander. He chose the latter. It was during this deployment where he was awarded the Silver Star.

On May 18, 1970 while serving as battalion commander of 214th Combat Aviation Battalion "Cougar", Larry, and the crew of his command and control Huey gunship, led the rescue of an outpost that had been overrun by the North Vietnamese forces. The fighting continued into the darkness of the night. During the battle another helicopter gunship in the Cougar Battalion was shot down. The air crew survived the crash, but was being overrun by the enemy force. Larry turned his attention to rescuing the downed air crew, but his helicopter then became heavily damaged from intense machine gun fire with multiple hits to the crew compartment, engine and transmission. Larry was forced to fly to a nearby outpost to rearm, refuel and make quick temporary repairs. Even though his command and control helicopter was damaged it could still fly and made 3 attempts to rescue the downed air crew. He was successful on the 3rd attempt. For his extreme heroism and extraordinary grace under pressure, Larry was awarded the Silver Star by the President of the United States in July of 1970.

There were a great many missions and battles that Larry fought while serving in combat, but this one bothered him his whole life. Not because it was any more dangerous than other battles but because he felt like his crew did not receive the credit that they deserved for their contribution to the success of the rescue. In 2013 Larry attempted to petition the Army to increase the citations for his air crew. His attempt was unsuccessful. One could imagine that someone in Larry's position would have the authority to decide who was going to fly with him as a member of the air crew in his command helicopter. It would be easy to understand that he would select the best that the battalion had for his crew. Let this record show he was with on that day; Major Gary Lozier, Copilot, S3 operations officer, forward air controller Randy Harris, SP4, crew chief, left side door gunner Philip Balint, SP4, right side door gunner.

Larry credits his copilot for communicating, coordinating and precise management of tactical air support to cover their approach, landing and exit from the battlefield. And Larry credits the door gunners for calling out enemy positions and targeting them with precision gunfire ("they were the best in the battalion"). Together, they saved themselves and the downed Cougar gunship.

In 1971 Larry graduated from the United States Army War college.

In August of 1972 Larry earned his master's degree in business. Also in 1972 he was assigned to office of the chief of research and development of weapons. His personal contributions were for helicopter escape, avoidance and countermeasures (some of which are still in use today).

In 1974 Larry was promoted to Colonel. And in 1976 he was selected to command the elite Aviation Group of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell Kentucky. The 101st Aviation Group is the largest and most potent Air Assault force in the world.

The family moved one last time to settle in Springfield Missouri in 1977 and Larry retired from the Army in 1978.

Col Baughman's decorations include the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Third Oak Leaf Cluster, Legion of Merit, First Oak Leaf Cluster, 46 Air Medals, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Gold Palm and Silver and Gold Stars. Larry received two awards of the Meritorious Service Medal, the 3rd highest award for merit.

He subsequently moved to Springfield, Mo where he started his second career as the executive director of the Greene County Chapter of the American Red Cross. He served the community and the region in this position from 1978 to 1992.

Also, after retiring from the Army, Larry acquired a small piece of farm property in Fordland, MO and began a cattle hobby farm. Larry did a lot of different things in his life, but farming was his true hobby; something that he learned as a boy during foster care.

Larry's other interest's included collecting coins, belt buckles, fishing and hunting.

Larry came from very humble beginnings with very little support or encouragement. He was a quiet man who worked hard for success but did not boast about his achievements. He always made sure that his family had food on the table, clean clothes to wear, and safe home to live in. He spent his entire life in service to his family, community and country.

Larry died at Cox South Hospital in Springfield, MO October 14, 2023, surrounded by his loving family. He was 92 years old.

Larry was preceded in death by his wife of 65 years Marjorie (Marcotte) Baughman, parents and step father, brother William (Bill) Baughman, sister Anne (Baughman) Tozier, one son, Michael Baughman MD, and twin daughters, Laurie Ann and Mary Elizabeth.

He leaves his children: Patricia Baughman, Springfield, MO, Paulette Baughman, daughter-in-law, Shawnee KS, Linda Jean (Jack) Ogle, Rockford, IL, Bruce (Joyce) Baughman, Mahomet, IL, Chris Baughman, Springfield, MO, Janet (Dean Boley) Bell, South Elgin, IL, Carol Adrienne (Roger Ferguson) Baughman, Viera, FL, Jonathan (Loralee) Baughman, Fordland, MO, and Teresa (Gary) Fessler- Haslet, TX.  He also leaves 19 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.

Memorial services will be held on Tuesday, October 24, 2023 at 9:30 AM at Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home, burial with Full Military Honors in the Missouri Veterans Cemetery at 10:30 AM.

Memorials may be sent to the orphanage where Larry spent time as a child:
Noyes Home For Children
801 N Noyes Blvd
St. Joseph, Missouri 64506

The family wishes to thank Larry MacMillan (Home Instead) and the Cox Hospital Nursing Staff for their compassionate and professional care. We were indeed impressed with their loving care and attention to Larry. May God Bless them all.