Mark Bauman Papers

Mark Bauman was born in Brooklyn, NY, on April 12, 1946 to Marcia Schack and David Bauman. His father was an immigrant from Czechoslovakia (now part of Ukraine) and immigrated with his mother and younger sister when he was eight. Mark’s grandfather, Max Bauman (originally Balaban) was a schochet (kosher butcherer) and settled the family in Bridgeport, CT. In 1948 his parents moved the family to Elmont, Long Island where his father bought a house on the GI Bill. He had served in the air force as a mechanic during World War II but had remained within the US. When Mark was about 12, the family moved to North Belmore, L.I. His sister Nancy was born in 1954 and brother Sanford (Sandy) followed in 1958. We attended Congregation Beth-El of Bellmore where he went through bar mitzvah and later confirmation. He was heavily involved in USY and served as vice president and president of the local chapter. His father worked as an insurance adjustor and was deeply committed to the Masons where he became the Master of his lodge. He was an ardent Zionist and gave to Israel Bonds, etc. Later his parents and fraternal grandparents met on separate tours in Israel. He attended a predominantly Jewish summer camp, Camp Oakdale, and his parents often went to the Catskill Resorts. Mark married Sandra G. Woolf (b. 1/28/45) in 1967 shortly after graduating from Wilkes College (now university), Wilkes-Barre, PA. He then pursued a MA degree specializing in American history at Lehigh University. After Lehigh I pursued a Ph.D. in American history at the University of Chicago. The fear of being drafted into the Vietnam War intensified when President Lyndon Johnson changed the education deferment conditions. Previously one would continue the education deferment in graduate school but Johnson changed this in 1968 so that people who had not completed two years were eligible. He was in my second year of grad school and my deferment ended. Mark decided to join the army for three years with a MOS (Military Occupation Specialty) and hoped that would keep him out of Vietnam but at least out of direct combat. He enlisted to be a clerk and was allowed to finish the 1967-68 school year at Chicago before my enlistment date in May 1968. He went through basic training at Fort Dix, NJ. Mark gradually rose from PFC (Private First Class) to Spec 4 (Specialist 4th class) to Spec 5 just before being sent to Vietnam. He received orders to report to Vietnam in May 1969. He attempted to get out of it but was not part of a general list but rather he was specifically named. He went to Vietnam shortly after it became known that American troops had entered Cambodia and the resulting Kent State University demonstrations and violence. He was assigned to the education branch headquarters, part of G-1, for all of Vietnam as the clerk/admin assistant. He worked directly under Dr. Louis Strelow, a retired colonel and head of the military education program for all of Vietnam, for six months. This office ran educational programs and centers throughout the country where soldiers could learn to read and write, get high school degrees, take college courses through the University of Maryland, and officers could have applications processed for transmittal to Washington to attend college or university in the US after their tour of duty in Vietnam. He did all of the office paper work and files administration and visited bases throughout the country making sure records were being maintained and tests secured. He received the Bronze Star for his service in the military during the Vietnam War. After returning from the war, Mark passed his Ph.D. preliminary exam for the University of Chicago while in the army – after two and a half years away from school. Chicago had welcomed him in 1968 but the job market for historian professors had fallen out while he was in the army. He received a begrudging letter indicating that he could return but without any encouragement. Instead of pursuing my Ph.D. at Chicago, he received a second MA degree and applied for and was accepted at Emory University. Neither he or his wife had lived in the South. Vietnam and the military dramatically impacted his life and that of his family. It influenced his move to the south and his career as a professor and historian of southern Jewry. His family was early members of Congregation Beth Shalom and then attended Beth David. They remained unaffiliated for many years but now are charter members of Shalom B’harim in Dahlonega. He continued his actively involvement in southern Jewish history editing an annual peered-reviewed journal, Southern Jewish History, co-editing the University of Alabama Judaic studies series, holding various positions in the Southern Jewish Historical Society, giving presentations and writing. (Summary taken from biographical sketch found in Box 1, File 1)