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Theodore B. Bazan, in
whose honor the American Legion, Post No. 6,
of Moberly, was named
will long be remembered as one who gave his life~
to his country and died a
heroic and self sacrificing death. He was born
at St. Joseph, Mo., July
29, 1895, and attended the parochial school there
for five years. After the
family removed to Saline County he also at-
tended the parochial there
and later at Salisbury, Mo. He then attended
the public schools of
Clark and Moberly, graduating from the high school
at Moberly. He then
entered the State University at Columbia, Mo.,
where he took the medical
course for two years and when the United
States entered the World
War he entered the Officer's Training School at
Ft. Riley, Kan., in May,
1917, and after a period of training, he was com-
missioned a second
lieutenant in August of the same year and assigned
for the 138th Infantry and
on April 20, 1918, he was promoted to first
lieutenant. In May, 1918,
he went to France with his command and was
stationed in Vosges
Mountains, and also participated in the engagement
at Verdun. He also
participated in the great drive in the Argonne Forest
and as that great battle
raged on September 27th, he was mortally
wounded during the
evening between six and ten o'clock. His death was
due to the explosion of a
high power shell, which tore away the right
side of his abdomen. As
he lay mortally wounded, a detail of soldiers
came to care for him, and
he, knowing that he was mortally wounded,
and that he could not live
long, requested the detail to not give him any
attention, but ordered
them to direct their attention to others, less
severely wounded, that
their lives might be saved, and while waiting
there, he died and was
buried on the field of honor. |