The bronze of Harold W. Bauer, "Injun Joe", who was awarded the Medal of Honor is the first in a series of Aviation Art by the Bronze Sculptor Artist, William D. Hunter. The Medal of Honor is the highest recognition for valor, beyond obedience to orders and bravery above all expectations, that can be awarded to any member of the United States Armed Forces. Joe Bauer made the ultimate sacrifice, he gave his life for his country. The official citation for the Medal of Honor awarded posthumously by President Roosevelt reads as follows.

"For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous courage as Squadron Commander of Marine Fighting Squadron TWO TWELVE in the South Pacific Area during the period May 10 to November 14, 1942. Volunteering to pilot a fighter plane in defense of our positions on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, Lieutenant Colonel Bauer participated in two air battles against enemy bombers and fighters outnumbering our force more than two-to-one, boldly engaged the enemy and destroyed one Japanese bomber in the engagement of September 28 and shot down four enemy fighter planes in flames on October 3, leaving a fifth smoking badly. After successfully leading twenty-six planes on an over-water ferry flight of more than six hundred miles on October 16, Lieutenant Colonel Bauer, while circling to land, sighted a squadron of enemy planes attacking the U.S.S. McFarland. Undaunted by the formidable opposition and with valor above and beyond the call of duty, he engaged the entire squadron and although alone and his fuel supply nearly exhausted, fought his plane so brilliantly that four of the Japanese planes were destroyed before he was forced down by lack of fuel. His intrepid fighting spirit and distinctive ability as a leader and an airman, exemplified in his splendid record of combat achievement, were vital factors in the successful operations in the South Pacific Area."

During the early days of the war in the Pacific, our fighting forces were short of every supply and resource; victory was anything but assured. On Guadalcanal the Marine position was extremely tenuous as most of the island was under Japanese control during this critical time period. It was in this setting of desperate times where survival was al-ways in question and inspired leadership and courage made the difference.

Both Bauer's men and his superiors counted him as an extraordinary leader. He had been marked for a Group Command. As the Squadron Commander of VMF 212, he engaged the enemy only four times to achieve his eleven victories. On one occasion in full view of his men and the other Marines at Henderson field Joe Bauer shot down four enemy fighters before running out of fuel and being forced to land. After landing, he immediately gave his men a pep talk to encourage them after having lost their gasoline supply to the Japanese air attack he interrupted. This was to later be called "...the most remarkable individual achievement by any airman in the annals of Guadalcanal."

Joe Foss, who was the official leading Marine Corps ace of World War II and also a Medal of Honor winner, served under Col. Bauer at the time Bauer was lost in action. Foss, now a retired General states, "Joe Bauer was an impressive leader, the best. He could explain aerial combat better than anyone. A charger with only two speeds - stop and full, an absolute tiger."

Joe Foss in an interview on November 22, 1988, re-counted the last mission with Col. Bauer and the unsuccessful rescue attempt. His account of that last day in" Injun Joe" Bauer's life follows:

Colonel Bauer had asked Joe Foss if he could join him on a mission. At that time Foss was the Executive Officer of VMF 121. He suggested that the Colonel lead his squadron on the next mission, which turned out to be against a large Japanese resupply convoy. Because of the frequency of Japanese resupply on Guadalcanal, these convoys had been named the "Tokyo Express". The Tokyo Express was coming down the "Slot" which was a natural straight course between islands in the Solomon Island chain connecting Guadalcanal to the Japanese supply base on Rabaul. Shortly after mid-night on November 14, 1942 a series of actions began that would determine the direction of the Guadalcanal campaign and turn the tide in favor of the Americans. A Japanese Cruiser - Destroyer force began to shell Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, in an attempt to eliminate the influence of the U.S. Marine air power prior to the forth coming Japanese planned sea, air and land action. The shelling was a major pounding, and stopped after the Japanese fired about 1000 rounds into Henderson Field. Needless to say the Henderson Field crew spent the night in fox holes and bunkers. At day break, planes from the USS Enterprise were quickly transferred to Henderson Field to join up with the Marine Air Group to retaliate against the Japanese Cruiser - Destroyer force. They did just that by sinking the cruiser Kinugasa, and damaging three other cruisers and a destroyer. At 1215 the Enterprise planes and the Marines at Henderson teamed again to hit the Tokyo Express which consisted of 11 transports and 12 destroyers. Because of the early morning shelling, the Japanese convoy expected a landing on Guadalcanal un op-posed by the Marine Air Group. The Marines only lost two F4Fs in the raid, and the few planes damaged were in the air by the end of the day. What the convoy also did not know was that a couple of American PT boats started making runs on the cruisers, causing them to disengage from the bombardment of Henderson Field. The planned destruction of Henderson Field and the Marine Air Group had evaded the Japanese. This was the background of November 14, 1942, the day that "Injun Joe" Bauer was going to lead Joe Foss' squadron.

As the strike was being launched, Col. Bauer's engine refused to start. Foss sent his flight on and he and Boot Furlow remained with the Colonel waiting for his engine to start. Once the engine started they lost no time in heading out to join the strike. When the three of them: Bauer, Foss and Furlow reached altitude they met the strike force re-turning to Henderson. Looking ahead, they could see the smoke of the Japanese ships that were hit by the returning airmen. Of the eleven transports they could see smoke from six of them. They later found out that seven were sunk and the remaining four, heavily damaged ran aground to keep from sinking. When they arrived over the area, Joe Bauer was in the lead with Foss on the right and Furlow on the left. Bauer kicked his rudder giving the signal go down. They got right down on the deck in the midst of the ships, including the 12 Destroyers and began staffing. The attack was so low the Japanese could not fire on them without hitting their own ships.

Without warning, the three were jumped by zeros from above. Foss was sprayed by a storm of bullets that were immediately detected by the geysers the bullets caused when they met the glass like sea. The Zero attacking Foss had to pull up. When he did, Foss pulled up with him, firing a burst, that in a blink of an eye blew the attacker out of the air. Foss then looked over his right wing to witness a Zero coming down, head on towards Joe Bauer. The Colonel pulled up and took the enemy fighter on, in a head on pass. The Japanese plane came apart directly in front of Bauer, not allowing time or space to do any thing but fly through the debris. At this point, Foss lost track of Col. Bauer. According to official Marine Corps records Injun Joe also downed a second plane in this en-counter.

The enemy fire from the ships became intense and Foss attempted to radio the others without success. Determining that his radio had been hit by enemy fire, Foss saw Furlow and gave him the motion to join up and depart the area. Colonel Bauer was not to bee seen; however, Foss caught a glimpse of an oil slick in the direction of Guadalcanal. The sea was calm making the slick easy to see and Foss flew down a tell tale track of oil pointing toward home. At the end of the slick was a bigger slick and Joe Bauer in the water. He had his life jacket on and jumped up waving for Foss to keep going. Evidently, he did not want to call attention to the Japanese in the area that he was in the water. As Foss passed over he at-tempted to drop his life raft, which subsequently did not release until the jar of landing at Henderson Field. Without a radio, Foss could not report that the Colonel was down and in the water. Immediately after landing, Foss grabbed the first person avail-able, which was Joe Renner and they took off in the Duck, a bi-wing amphibian. The idea was get out there, land and pick up Colonel Bauer.