Word Celebrity Blog

Vernon Joseph Baker

Vernon Joseph Baker was born on 17 December 1919 in Cheyenne Wyoming. His parents died in a car crash when he was 4 years old and his maternal grandparents became surrogate parents for him and his 2 sisters. Although never officially adopted, Vernon took the name Baker. He learned when he enlisted in the Army that his family name was Caldera.

His Grandmother ran a boarding house for blacks in a segregated Cheyenne Wyoming. His Grandfather was chief brakeman for the Union Pacific railroad.  His sister Cass taught him the alphabet and how to sound out words. Books were hard to come by and magazines scrounged from trashcans were a primary source of reading material. Eventually he learned to read well enough that he was made a deacon at church. It also advanced him to the 3rd grade the first day of 2nd grade. "You read too well for my class" he was told by the teacher.

Grandpa taught him to hunt and one Christmas presented him with a .22 cal Remington rifle. He was now able to help keep food on the table.  School included a stay in Boys Town. His High School years were in Iowa where he graduated with honors and lettered in basketball, track and football. He was also a halfback on the football team. He worked off and on for the railroad but quit after his grandparents died and moved in with his sister.

"The first time I walked into the recruiting office, there was a sergeant sitting behind the desk. He asked me what I wanted and I said I would like to enlist in the army. And he said, "well, we don't have any quotas for you people." With that he went back to what he was doing, writing something on his desk, you know dismissed me as if I was a little mouse or something."

"And it made me very angry and when I walked out the door I swore I wasn't coming back, I wouldn't do that anymore. But as things went on, I wasn't working. I didn't have a job. I was living with my sister and it kind of rankled me that I needed to support myself."

"So, I swallowed my pride and I went back to the recruiting office. And this time, there was a different soldier sitting behind the desk and he asked me if he could help me. And I said, "yes, I'd like to enlist in the army." And he said, "well come right in and sit down." and I ended up at Camp Wolters, Texas, in the infantry."

"We were in a segregated platoon in a white company, OCS class number 148. And it was the same old thing. We were in separate barracks, separated from everybody, except when we went to class. That was normal for us, that's the way it always had been. And being a black man, you had to accept it."

He left for Basic training at Camp Wolters Texas on June 26, 1941. After basic traing, Vernon Baker was sent to Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Since he could could read, write, spell and operate a typewriter, he was made a company clerk. In October 1941,  he was promoted to Supply Sergeant. Then sometime in 1942, a white officer told him to sign up for officer candidates' school. He did, and was commissioned a second lieutenant on January 11, 1943.

All of the black officers were called up to headquarterswere they were told that the army was reactivating the 92nd Infantry Division and they were going to be part of it and would be going overseas.

Vernon Baker was assigned to the segregated 270th Regiment of the 92nd Infantry Division; it was the first black unit to go into combat in World War II, although not until late in the fighting and then under the command primarily of white officers. The entire Buffalo Division crossed the Atlantic without an escort, and in June 1944, the 370th landed at Naples and fought its way north into central Italy. Lieutenant  Baker's first four months in combat was nothing but night patrols.

One evening in the fall, Vernon Baker, on night patrol, ran into a German sentry. In the duel that followed, Vernon killed the German. but, his own wounds were serious enough that he had to be hospitalized for two months.

In the spring of 1945, Lieutenant Baker - the only black officer in his company - was in command of a weapons platoon made up of two light-machine-gun squads and two mortar squads.

His unit was near Viareggio on April 5 when it was ordered to launch a dawn assault against Castle Aghinolfi, a mountain stronghold occupied by the Germans. Moving ahead of the other platoons, Baker and his men had reached a shallow ravine about 250 yards below the castle at about 10:00 a.m. when they encountered heavy fire. As they took cover, Lieutenant Baker spotted a pair of cylindrical objects pointed up out of a mound in the hill above him. At first he thought they were flash suppressors for machine guns, but as he slithered closer, he realized they were observation scopes. He stuck his rifle into the slit of the observation post and emptied the clip, killing the two Germans who had been directing fire from the castle.

Moving forward, Lieutenant Baker stumbled on a well camouflaged machine gun nest and shot and killed the two soldiers manning it. The next moment, as Company C's commanding officer joined Baker, a German soldier appeared in the ravine and tossed a potato masher grenade, which came to rest at their feet. Luckily, it turned out to be a dud, and Vernon Baker shot the German as he tried to run. After locating a dugout in the hillside, he blasted open the fortified entrance with a grenade, and shot one enemy sniper as he exited after the explosion, then Vernon entered the dugout and killed two more German soldiers.

By afternoon, the German fire began to inflict heavy casualties on Baker's platoon. His captain ordered a withdrawal and left with his radioman as Lieutenant Baker covered their retreat. Then he and his men (the six remaining of the 25 he had led into battle earlier) began to make their way back down to the American lines. They ran into two more German machine gun positions that had been bypassed during the assault. Vernon used hand grenades on both positions.

The next day, Lieutenant Baker volunteered to lead a battalion assault on Castle Aghinolfi. On his way up the hill, he saw the bodies of the 19 men he had lost the day before. All of them were barefoot because the Germans had taken their shoes and socks during the cold night.

Picking their way through minefields and heavy fire, the Americans finally routed the Germans and secured the position at the top of the mountain.

Lieutenant Baker and his platoon had killed 26 Germans, destroyed 6 machine gun nests, 2 observer posts and 4 dugouts. Lieutenant  Vernon J. Baker earned a distinguished service cross in July 1945. He was one of nine African Americans so honored in World War II.

In May, 1945, Germany surrendered. Then it was time to regroup and join the invasion of Japan... and he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant. In June he was told he had earned the Distinguished Service Cross. His superiors fought it, but he received the award on the 4th of July 1945 in Viareggio Italy.


























The American army had little use for its black soldiers but the French "awarded the Croix de Guerre, the Cross of War, to every member of three all-black regiments." The free Polish Governmentt awarded him the Polish Cross of Valor and the Italians awarded him the Croce di Guerra al Valore, the Cross of Valor.  These 3 meant more to him than the Distinguished Service Cross. Vernon Baker had also been awarded the Combat Infantry Badge but the army withdrew the supplemental pay for it after Germany surrendered.

He never made it to Japan. In Aug '45, he transferred to the Quartermaster Corp after Japan had surrendered and the 92d was deactivated and sent home. Late in 1946, he to was sent back to the U.S. on the U.S.S. Henry P. Stevens.

























His first station was Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. He attempted to keep his officer status but as he did not have a college degree it was not to be. He debated about getting out and going to college but no job and no money was not appealing. He became a photographer with the rank of Master Sergeant. He then joined an all-black airborne Battalion and was now at Ft. Bragg North Carolina. Again racism raised his head, a white Colonel refused to believe that the DSC on his uniform was valid and demanded he remove it. "Ain’t no nigger I ever saw deserved no Distinguished Service Cross."

When the war broke out in Korea in 1950 he was made a lieutenant again, but his request for Korea was denied. The DCS made him to highly decorated to risk loosing in battle, he was sent to Alaska.  In 1948 the army was ordered desegregated by President Truman but it didn’t trickle down to Lt. Baker until September 10, 1951.

At Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, he was promoted from Platoon Leader to Company Commander, much to the chagrin of the white 2d Lt. in the CO office.

When the Korean Conflict ended he left the Airborne and went back to the Signal Corps and photography. He still did not have a college degree and had to once again relinquish his officer status. He was back at Ft. Huachucca as the post Photo Lab Chief. It was there that he met Fern who became his wife in June 1953.





















"Combat, racism, and beatings couldn’t chase me from the Army. Drugs and desertion did." It was the middle of the Viet Nam war. Desertions were skyrocketing; drug use was rampant. He began making his morning rounds with a .45 for protection. It was too much.  In August 1968, at age 48, he made his last airplane jump and at Ft. Hamilton NY, with 27 years and 6 months of service, retired. Retired pay was less than $300 per month. He went to work for the Red Cross... which sent him to Viet Nam in 1969.


























A year later he was back at Ft. Ord. He now had time to pursue his interests...hunting. He learned of a place in Idaho called Red Ives Peak. In 1979 he scouted out the area. 

In 1986 after his wife’s sudden passing, he sought a diversion. Of all of the places he had gone hunting, nothing compared to Red Ives. It reminded him of the happy parts of his childhood and he began thinking about a cabin in the woods. He moved to Idaho in May 1987.

In 1989 he met Heidy Pawlik. A long distance romance (Pennsylvania) began and they married in 1993.


History of Medal of Honor award

In 1993, a study commissioned by the U.S. Army described systematic racial discrimination in the criteria for awarding medals during World War II. At the time, no Medals of Honor had been awarded to black soldiers who served in World War II. After an exhaustive review of files the study recommended that several black Distinguished Service Cross recipients be upgraded to the Medal of Honor.
























Congratulating Medal of Honor recipient Vernon Baker in the East Room.


On January 13, 1997, President Bill Clinton awarded the medal to seven African American World War II veterans; Vernon Baker became the only living black serviceman from World War II to receive this honor.




Vernon Joseph Baker

















Rank and Organization:
First Lieutenant,
U.S. Army, Company C,
370th Infantry Regiment,
92nd Infantry Division.

Home of Record:
Cheyenne Wyoming

Place and Date:
Near Viareggio, Italy,
5-6 April 1945

Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his own life above and beyond the call of duty in action on 5 and 6 April 1945, Lt. Baker advanced at the head of his weapons platoon, along with Company C's three rifle platoons, toward 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, Lt. 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, Lt. 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, Lt. Baker stumbled upon a well-camouflaged machine gun nest, the crew of which was eating breakfast. He shot and killed both enemy soldiers. After Capt. 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. Lt. Baker shot the enemy soldier twice as he tried to flee. Lt. Baker then went down into the draw alone. There he blasted open the concealed entrance to 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 submachine gun, killing two more Germans. As Lt. 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, Capt. Runyon ordered a withdrawal in two groups. Lt. Baker volunteered to cover the withdrawal of the first group, which consisted of mostly walking wounded, and to remain to assist in the evacuation of the more seriously wounded. During the second group's withdrawal, Lt. 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, Lt. Baker accounted for nine dead enemy soldiers, elimination of three machine gun positions, an observation post, and a dugout. On the following night, Lt. Baker voluntarily led a battalion advance through enemy mine fields and heavy fire toward the division objective.

Lt. Baker's fighting spirit and daring leadership were an inspiration to his men and exemplify the highest traditions of the military service.



Other awards


















On September 11, 2008, Vernon Baker was awarded the Sandor Teszler Award for Moral Courage and Service to Humankind by Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC. Along with the award, Baker received an honorary doctorate from the college.

























After Vernon Baker received his medal, he stated: "War, however, is a most regrettable proving ground. For the sake of my 19 comrades, I hope no man, black, white, or any color ever again has the opportunity to earn the Medal of Honor. War is not honor. Those who rush to launch combat, and those who seek to create heroes from it, should remember war's legacy. You have to be there to appreciate its horrors. And die to forget them."