Vernon J Baker
Vernon was born on the 17th of December 1919, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and at the age of four, he and his two older sisters were orphaned when their parents were killed in a car accident. His father’s parents raised the three and while his grandfather would become the most influential person in his life, Vernon struggled with his anger and fought with his grandmother. Because of this, he was sent to an orphanage in Nebraska for a few years and after graduating from high school, he worked as a railroad porter until his grandfather, who has also worked for the railroad, died on Christmas of 1939. Vernon attempted to enlist in the US Army since he was not happy with the jobs he was working but was originally turned away until June of 1941, when he enlisted into the infantry. After basic training in Texas, he attended Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on the 11th of January 1943. Vernon was assigned to the 1st Battalion of the segregated and recently reactivated 370th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division, also known as the Buffalo Soldiers. His deployment to Europe would begin in Italy, where he would be wounded and hospitalized. Once recovered, he was in command of Company C and his actions during an assault on a German stronghold, which had three previous assault failures, that would earn him the Distinguished Service Cross and later, the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty: First Lieutenant Vernon J. Baker distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 5 and 6 April 1945. At 0500 hours on 5 April 1945, Lieutenant Baker advanced at the head of his weapons platoon, along with Company C's three rifle platoons, towards their objective; Castle Aghinolfi - a German mountain strong point on the high ground just east of the coastal highway and about two miles from the 370th infantry Regiment's line of departure. Moving more rapidly than the rest of the company, Lieutenant Baker and about 25 men reached the south side of a draw some 250 yards from the castle within two hours. In reconnoitering for a suitable position to set up a machine gun, Lieutenant Baker observed two cylindrical objects pointing out of a slit in a mount at the edge of a hill. Crawling up and under the opening, he stuck his M-1 into the slit and emptied the clip, killing the observation post's two occupants. Moving to another position in the same area, Lieutenant Baker stumbled upon a well-camouflaged machine gun nest, the crew of which was eating breakfast. He shot and killed both enemy soldiers. After Captain John F. Runyon, Company C's Commander joined the group, a German soldier appeared from the draw and hurled a grenade which failed to explode. Lieutenant Baker shot the enemy soldier twice as he tried to flee. Lieutenant Baker then went down into the draw alone. There he blasted open the concealed entrance of another dugout with a hand grenade, shot one German soldier who emerged after the explosion, tossed another grenade into the dugout and entered firing his sub-machine gun, killing two more Germans. As Lieutenant Baker climbed back out of the draw, enemy machine gun and mortar fire began to inflict heavy casualties among the group of 25 soldiers, killing or wounding about two-thirds of them. When expected reinforcements did not arrive, Captain Runyon ordered a withdrawal in two groups. Lieutenant 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. During the second group's withdrawal, Lieutenant Baker, supported by covering fire from one of his platoon members, destroyed two machine gun positions (previously bypassed during the assault) with hand grenades. In all, Lieutenant Baker accounted for nine enemy dead soldiers, elimination of three machine gun positions, an observation post, and a dugout. On the following night, Lieutenant Baker voluntary led a battalion advance through enemy mine fields and heavy fire toward the division objective. Lieutenant Baker's fighting spirit and daring leadership were an inspiration to his men and exemplify the highest traditions of the military service.
After the war, Vernon remained in Italy for occupation duty and when the Army became desegregated, he completed Airborne training and went on to command a company in the Korean War. After twenty-seven years of service, he retired from the Army and went to work for the American Red Cross for almost twenty years. He was married four times, having three children with his third wife, and after her death, Vernon moved to northern Idaho. His grandfather had taught him how to hunt and he enjoyed hunting elk in the area. The area is also where he met a German woman that was visiting the US and the two were married.
Early in the 1990s, a study was commissioned by the US Army to review Medal of Honor recommendations of black soldiers that were denied based on their race. Ten were decided, Congress approved seven for the award, and six has their Distinguished Service Crosses upgraded. On the 13th of January 1997, Vernon received the Medal of Honor from President Clinton in a ceremony at the White House. Vernon was the only living recipient of the seven and he went on to work with the National WW2 Museum to create the “Fighting on Two Fronts: The African American Experience in World War 2” symposium. His stepdaughter, Alexander, was initially denied a travel visa to attend the ceremony but the family and Senator Dirk Kempthorne did all they could do, and she was granted a tourist visa. Vernon Joseph Baker died of brain cancer on the 13th of July 2010, at the age of 90 and he is buried in Arlington National Cemetery: Section 59, Grave 4408.
