1. Vernon Joseph Baker was a United States Army first lieutenant who was an infantry company platoon leader during World War II and a paratrooper during the Korean War.
19 Facts About Vernon Baker
1. 2.
Vernon Baker died in 2010 at the age of 90 and was interred at Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia.
3.
Vernon Baker was born on December 17,1919, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, the youngest of three children.
4.
Vernon Baker graduated in 1939 from Clarinda High School in his grandfather's hometown of Clarinda, Iowa.
5.
Vernon Baker worked as a railroad porter, a job he despised, until his grandfather's death from cancer on Christmas in 1939.
6.
Vernon Baker enlisted in the US Army in June 1941 from Cheyenne.
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Vernon Baker tried again weeks later with a different recruiter and was accepted; he requested to become a quartermaster but was given instead the infantry.
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Vernon Baker completed Officer Candidate School and was commissioned a second lieutenant on January 11,1943.
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In doing so, Vernon Baker personally eliminated three enemy machineguns, an observation post, and a dugout.
10.
Seven of the ten, including Vernon Baker, were approved, and awarded the MOH, on January 12,1997.
11.
Vernon Baker worked for the American Red Cross for almost 20 years.
12.
Vernon Baker was an avid hunter, and hunted elk in northern Idaho before and after moving to the area.
13.
Vernon Baker died at his St Maries, Idaho, home on July 13,2010, after a long battle with cancer.
14.
Vernon Baker had been close to death from brain cancer in 2004 but had recovered.
15.
In reconnoitering for a suitable position to set up a machine gun, Lieutenant Vernon Baker observed two cylindrical objects pointing out a slit in a mount at the edge of a hill.
16.
Lieutenant Vernon Baker shot the enemy soldier twice as he tried to flee.
17.
Lieutenant Vernon Baker volunteered to cover the withdrawal of the first group, which consisted mostly of walking wounded, and to remain to assist in the evacuation of the more seriously wounded.
18.
Lieutenant Vernon Baker's fighting spirit and daring leadership were an inspiration to his men and exemplify the highest traditions of the military service.
19.
On September 11,2008, Vernon Baker was awarded the Sandor Teszler Award for Moral Courage and Service to Humankind by Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina.