When Bayard Brown was born on May 21, 1891, in Genoa, Illinois, his father, Dillon, was 39 and his mother, Emily, was 38. He had three brothers and one sister. Lt. Brown was admitted to the Second Officers' Training Camp at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, being assigned to the 17th Company. Upon receipt of his commission, he was ordered overseas, sailing on January 15, 1918. Arriving in France he was assigned for further military training to one of the A.E.F. infantry schools. Upon completion of the course he was attached to the 26th Infantry, with which regiment he went into the line on March 15, 1918.

He died October 7, 1918, from wounds received in action in Battle of Marne. Per SAC, the cemetery database omits him, but family info, cenotaph and contemporary reports show that he is buried in Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial, Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, Departement de la Meuse, Lorraine, France. He also has a cenotaph in Genoa Township Cemetery, Genoa, DeKalb County, Illinois, USA.

Twice wounded, Lt. Brown was awarded the Croix de Guerre for gallantry in action. He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and it cites as follows:
The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Bayard Brown, Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Soissons, France, July 2 - 22, and near Verdun, France, October 9, 1918. Lieutenant Brown took command of his battalion at Soissons after all his senior officers had been killed or wounded, organized for a counterattack, and held his command all day, although he was dangerously wounded. In the fight for Hill 212, in the Argonne, he took command of his company after his company commander had been killed, and led it forward until mortally wounded within 50 yards of the enemy position.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.ancestry.com