Norman Kenneth Bawks has for decades been an unknown, unrecognized hero.
Bawks, a resident of St. Louis County and member of the 359th Infantry Regiment, on Nov. 6, 1918, was killed in action during World War I.
Bawks was one of 116,516 American “Doughboys” killed in combat or dead of other causes during what was then called the “War to end all wars,” according to the United States World War One Centennial Commission.
Bawks died one day shy of his 23th birthday and five days before the Armistice was signed Nov. 11, 1918, ending the war.
Bawks’ remains arrived for final burial September 24, 1921, at Maple Hill Cemetery in Hibbing after having two times previously been interred.
However, up until August 2023, Bawks’ final resting place was largely unrecognized and unknown due to a deteriorated, partially-covered, small foot marker.
An 11 a.m. military honor ceremony Saturday, May 18, in Block 7 North at Maple Hill Cemetery, changes all that.
A new and proper military marker installed at Bawks’ grave will be unveiled and a Mid Range Honor Guard and Hibbing/Chisholm Yellow Ribbon group honor commemoration held.
“Who would expect to do honors for a World War I veteran who died on Nov. 6, 1918?, John Munz, Mid Range Honor Guard treasurer said. “This is something that’s long overdue.”
For a veteran with no known family, it’s a long overdue recognition for a young man who gave his life for the country that he came to at a young age.
The dilapidated foot marker was discovered by Zach Moore, of Perpetual Care of Minnesota.
Perpetual Care of Minnesota is a Pengilly-based family-owned company that offers a variety of cemetery services.
After discovering the deteriorated foot marker, Moore pushed forward to research Bawks’ personal history and honor Bawks with an appropriate marker.
“It’s really cool,” Greg Clancy, of the St. Louis Veterans Service Office said. “The research Zach did on this on this is like made-for-movie kind of stuff.”
The small marker on Bawks’ grave made it difficult to see, Clancy said.
“It may have been a government marker of that time,” Clancy said. “It’s the size of a brick.”
But Perpetual Care uncovered it it.
“Knowledge of his resting place came about by happenstance,” Perpetual Care said on its web site. “While looking for another grave site, we found his, a small foot stone nearly overgrown and with surface damage. Pulling back the grass, we noted his Infantry Regiment and date of death. Instantly recognizing his unit and knowing he died so close to the Armistice, we were compelled to learn more. After several weeks of research, there was finally enough information to paint a more complete picture of his life, and with that information, we were ready to submit an application for an official military marker.”
Moore contacted the St. Louis County Veterans Office in Hibbing, Clancy said.
The Veterans Office then spearheaded a process to obtain a new and proper military marker from Veterans Affairs.
Bawks was born in Ontario, Canada, according to records.
His family emigrated to the United States sometime between 1895 and 1900, according to records.
The U.S. Census of 1905 showed Bawks and his family living in St. Louis County when he was 10 years old.
Bawks doesn’t show up again in history books until April 23, 1918, when he marries Alphosine Gosselin.
A couple months later, on June 20, 1918, Bawks ships out to France with the 359th Infantry Regiment, 90th Division of the American Expeditionary Forces.
His unit fights in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.
The unit then fights across the Meuse River around Stenay, France.
But Bawks doesn’t even make it through five months of war.
On Nov. 6, 1918, Bawks is killed in action, one day short of his 23rd birthday.
Five days later, the war ends.
Corporal Bawks’ body is buried once and then in the Argonne American Cemetery before it’s returned to the United States and Maple Hill Cemetery.
His wife Alphosine remarries.
Following her death, she is buried next to him.
Because Bawks has no known family, it’s hoped that veterans and others will turn out Saturday at Maple Hill Cemetery for the marker unveiling and honor ceremony.
“Given that he and his widow, Alphosine, never had children of their own and no further descendants have been found, it is likely his full story will never be known,” Perpetual Care said. “We can however, as a community be proud of the fact that he has not been forgotten. We can cherish his life and sacrifice by paying our respects to him, and all of his fellow veterans laid to rest at Maple Hill.”
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