RIP Vernon J. Baker
The Washington Post reports that the sole liveing African American MOH recipient of WWII has left us.
First Lt. Vernon J. Baker, 90, an Army infantryman who, more than 50 years after the end of World War II, became the only surviving African American to receive the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during the war, died July 13 at his home near St. Maries, Idaho.
The article goes on to describe Lt. baker’s actions agaionst the Germans in Italy. It reads like something out of a movie:
Two hours after starting their mission on April 5, Lt. Baker and his men came within 300 yards of the castle. While attempting to find a suitable place for a machine gun, Lt. Baker observed two rifle barrels hanging out of a concealed slit in some rocky earth.
After stealthily crawling to the opening, he popped up and emptied the clip of his M-1 rifle into the observation post, killing two sentries.
While searching for more camouflaged emplacements, Lt. Baker spotted a machine-gun nest occupied by two soldiers distracted by their breakfast. He shot and killed them both.
A German soldier then hurled a grenade that landed at Lt. Baker’s feet. Undeterred, he fired two fatal rounds at the fleeing German, while the grenade by Lt. Baker’s boots failed to explode.
He found the door to another bunker and blasted it open with a grenade. A wounded German soldier stumbled out in confusion, and Lt. Baker shot him. After tossing in a second grenade, he raided the bunker with a submachine gun blazing, killing two more Germans.
Apparently, Baker spent 23 years in the Army and retired in 1968. My favorite part of the article was the end:
He spent much of his later life hunting big game in Idaho. During one expedition, he discovered a mountain lion lurking behind him. After receiving his Medal of Honor, Lt. Baker was asked by Clinton what happened to the cougar.
“Why, it’s in my freezer,” Lt. Baker said. “I’m going to eat him.”
BZ Lt. Rest In Peace
Category: Breaking News, Historical, Military issues, Real Soldiers, War Stories
RIP, Sir, you definitely earned it.
Thanks for posting this, Doc.
God Bless him and his family. His story is even more remarkable when one considers the institutional biases of those times he had to deal with as a black officer.
New Orleans MEPS has his MOH citation on their wall. Everytime I stopped in I’d take time to read it and several others. Another of our WWII vets called home.
Bravo Zulu indeed Sir!
My kind of soldier. RIP sir.
Amen. You gotta love a guy who had a cougar in his freezer.
Blue skies, sir.
Peace be with you. Strike and Kill brigade loses a true hero.
save a spot for us at the bar, brother.