William G. Bainbridge

William G. Bainbridge was the fifth Sergeant Major of the Army,^[1] was sworn in on July 1, 1975 and served until June, 1979. He was born in Galesburg, Illinois, on April 17, 1925^[2] and died on November 29, 2008 in Palm Bay, Florida.^[3] He was the last World War II veteran to hold the position of Sergeant Major of the Army.

Military career

He entered the Army in June 1943 from Williamsfield, Illinois.^[4] Bainbridge’s first unit of assignment was with the 423d Infantry Regiment of the 106th Infantry Division, the last Army division organized for service in World War II. After deploying into the Ardennes region of Belgium in late 1944, Bainbridge’s regiment was overrun by German forces during the Battle of the Bulge. He was captured and spent the remaining months of the war in a German POW camp before being liberated by the 6th Armored Division.^[3] Upon returning to the United States, Bainbridge left active duty and joined the Army Reserve. He was recalled to active duty in January 1951. Following assignments at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, Fort Sheridan, Illinois, Fort Riley, and Fort Leonard Wood, he was reassigned to Europe and served as the Operations Sergeant with Headquarters, VII Corps. In 1962 he returned to Fort Riley, Kansas, where he served with the 1st Infantry Division as Sergeant Major of the 1st Battle Group, 28th Infantry, late reorganized as the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry. In 1965 he accompanied the battalion to Vietnam. Midway through his tour in Vietnam, Sergeant Major Bainbridge was appointed Command Sergeant major of the II Field Force.

From September 1966 through August 1967 he was Command Sergeant Major of the U.S. Army Infantry Training Center, Fort Benning, Georgia. He then was appointed the Command Sergeant Major of the First United States Army at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland and later selected to serve as Command Sergeant Major of the United States Army, Pacific located in Fort Shafter, Hawaii. In October 1972 Sergeant Major Bainbridge became the first Command Sergeant Major of the newly created United States Army Sergeants Major Academy at Fort Bliss,^[3] Texas and remained there until his appointment as Sergeant Major of the Army on 1 July 1975.^[2]

Awards and decorations

Combat Infantry Badge, 2 awards

	Army Distinguished Service Medal[2]
	Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters[2]
	Bronze Star[1]
	Air Medal with award numeral 2
	Army Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters[1]
	Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster[1]
	Meritorious Unit Commendation
	Prisoner of War Medal
	Army Good Conduct Medal (9 awards)
	American Campaign Medal
	European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three service stars
	World War II Victory Medal
	Army of Occupation Medal
	National Defense Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
	Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
	Vietnam Service Medal with three service stars
	Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation
	Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal

• 9 Service stripes.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Army document "William G. Bainbridge".

• The Sergeants Major of the Army, Daniel K. Elder, Center of Military History, United States Army Washington, D.C. 2003.

External links

• William G. Bainbridge, In Memoriam