Medal of Honor recipient Vernon Baker dies at 90
(St. Maries, Idaho)—In Italy’s Apennine Mountains 65 years ago, the men of Company C, 370th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division fought through enemy machine gun nests and bunkers in order to capture the German stronghold of Castle Aghinolfi.
The small castle overlooking a coastal highway was used by the Germans as an artillery observation post. Although three previous assaults on the objective had failed, Second Lt. Vernon J. Baker’s segregated company was ordered to attack again – using a similar approach as the previous assaults. To make matters worse, nearly three-quarters of Baker’s undermanned platoon were replacements, and had seen little or no combat.
At 5 a.m. on April 5, artillery pounded the German position and Charlie Company headed to their objective. Initially, they encountered little resistance, and within about two hours, Baker and his men were within 250 yards of the castle. As they looked for a suitable position to set up their machine gun, Baker saw an enemy telescope pointing out of a slit in the hill. He crawled up to the position and emptied the clip of his M1 Garand rifle into the hole, killing the observation post’s two occupants.
In: Articles, Military History · Tagged with: Medal of Honor, Vernon J. Baker, World War II
Vernon Baker interview
An interview with the late Medal of Honor recipient, Vernon J. Baker from 1997.
Watch the full episode. See more Dialogue.
In: Military History · Tagged with: Medal of Honor, Vernon J. Baker, World War II
Medal of Honor history: Modrzejewski and Pope
44 years ago, Capt. Robert J. Modrzejewski and his men of Company K, Third Battalion, Fourth Marines, THIRD Marine Division were inserted by helicopter into an enemy-infested jungle near the De-Militarized Zone. Their mission was to set up a blocking position for a major enemy trail network.
Shortly after landing, the company encountered a reinforced enemy platoon in a well-organized, defensive position. Major Modrzejewski led his men in the successful seizure of the enemy redoubt, which contained large quantities of ammunition and supplies. That evening, a numerically superior enemy force counterattacked in an effort to retake the vital supply area, thus setting the pattern of activity for the next 2 1/2 days.
The citation states that Modrzejewski was “constantly present wherever the fighting was heaviest, despite numerous casualties, a dwindling supply of ammunition and the knowledge that they were surrounded…”
In September 1944, Marine Corps Captain Everett P. Pope earned the Medal of Honor for his valiant leadership against overwhelming odds on Peleliu. Pope and his men held the strategic hill against Japanese suicide attacks. When ammunition ran low, the Marines resorted to using rocks and bare fists.
In: Military History · Tagged with: Medal of Honor, Vietnam War, World War II
Medal of Honor history: Roberts and Barfoot
41 years ago in Thua Thien Province, Republic of Vietnam, Sergeant Gordon R. Roberts’ platoon embarked on helicopters to assist another company who was surrounded and heavily outnumbered by the NVA. Once Roberts and his men arrived, they were pinned down by heavy automatic weapons and grenade fire. Roberts would gallantly charge and destroy four bunkers and later assist in rescuing wounded comrades.
Roberts is the only Medal of Honor recipient still serving in the Armed Forces.
66 years ago on May 23 near Carano, Italy, Technical Sergeant Van T. Barfoot and his element were heavily engaged by a well-fortified enemy that held the commanding ground. Barfoot crawled forward, destroying an enemy machine gun position with a grenade, causing another machine gun position to surrender, capturing more than a dozen prisoners. When the enemy counterattacked, Barfoot destroyed a tank with his bazooka, and he moved forward into enemy territory to destroy a German fieldpiece with a satchel charge. Upon returning, Barfoot then assisted two wounded men to safety.
In: Military History · Tagged with: Medal of Honor, Vietnam War, World War II
Medal of Honor history: Roger H.C. Donlon
46 years ago, a reinforced battalion of Viet Cong soldiers launched a predawn attack against Camp Nam Dong, a small outpost just east of Laos. In the five hours of intense fighting that followed, Captain Roger H.C. Dalton would earn the Medal of Honor and his Operational Detachment A-726 would become one of the most decorated teams in history. Donlon was repeatedly wounded during the attack, which killed three Green Berets, one Australian advisor, and 55 of the camp’s South Vietnamese and Nung defenders. 65 defenders were wounded.
Despite being heavily outnumbered, the battle was a pyhhric victory for the defenders.
Donlon’s incredible citation can be read here.
In: Military History · Tagged with: Medal of Honor, Vietnam War
American hero John Finn passes away
Just before 8:00 a.m. on December 7, 1941, Chief Petty Officer John Finn awoke to the sound of airplanes flying overhead and gunfire. He quickly threw on some clothes, jumped in his car and headed for the base, keeping his speedometer below the base’s 20-mph speed limit.
“I got around, and I heard a plane come roaring in from astern of me. As I glanced up, the guy made a wing-over and I saw that big old red meatball, the rising sun insignia, on the underside of the wing,” Finn recalled in a 2003 interview. “Well, I threw it into second, and it was a wonder I didn’t run over every sailor in the air station.”
Although Japan had not yet declared war on the United States, Japanese aircraft carriers had launched the first wave of 183 aircraft in a “sneak attack” on the anchored U.S. fleet. Another wave of 170 planes would strike just after 8:30 a.m., in all killing 2345 military personnel, 57 civilians, damaging or destroying hundreds of aircraft, sinking four battleships, two destroyers, and damaging numerous other ships.
The 32 year-old Finn arrived at Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Station where the PBY Catalina seaplanes were based. All but six of the base’s 33 Catalinas were destroyed by the Japanese, and the only seaplanes that could still function were those that had been out on an anti-submarine patrol. Some of his men were inside aircraft that were on fire, shooting the planes’ machine guns at Japanese aircraft overhead. As men scrambled to improvise firing platforms for the machine guns, Finn commandeered a .50 caliber and mounted it on an instruction stand normally used for teaching gunnery.
In: Articles, Military History · Tagged with: John W. Finn, Medal of Honor, Pearl Harbor, World War II
Medal of Honor history: Littrell and Baker
4 April 1970 in Kontum Province, Vietnam: Sergeant First Class Gary L. Littrell was advising a battalion of Vietnamese Rangers when the unit came under intense mortar fire, killing the Vietnamese commander, one of Littrell’s advisors, and seriously wounding all the remaining advisors. Littrell established a defensive perimeter, and single-handedly bolstered the unit as his battalion endured assault after assault over the next four days. Littrell’s citation
5 April 1945 near Viareggio, Italy: When First Lieutenant Vernon J. Baker’s company was stopped by concentrated fire, Baker crawled forward and destroyed three machine gun positions and an observation post – either single-handedly or with the aid of only one man. The next night, he voluntarily led a battalion through a mine field and heavy fire to a division objective. Baker’s citation
In: Military History · Tagged with: Gary L. Littrell, Medal of Honor, Vernon J. Baker
Medal of Honor history: Lemon and Beikirch
40 years ago, SP4 Peter Lemon and Sgt. Gary Beikirch earned the Medal of Honor in two separate incidents in Vietnam.
When Fire Support Base Illingworth came under attack, Lemon – a native Canadian and one of the youngest Medal recipients – engaged a numerically-superior enemy with his weapons until they both malfunctioned. Then Lemon used hand grenades to defend against an intense attack, killing all but one soldier – whom he chased down and dispatched during hand-to-hand combat. He rescued team mates, fought off further assaults with grenades, machine gun, and hand-to-hand fighting before collapsing from his multiple wounds. Read Lemon’s citation.
During the defense of Camp Dak Seang, Beikirch moved through withering fire to rescued and treated numerous soldiers after a devastating assault. Although Beikirch received multiple, serious wounds himself, he refused treatment and continued searching for wounded teammates before collapsing from his wounds. Read Beikirch’s citation.
In: Uncategorized · Tagged with: Gary B. Beikirch, Medal of Honor, Peter C. Lemon, Vietnam War
Military Roundup
Get out your flags! Today is National Medal of Honor Day. On this day in 1863, the first Medals were awarded. And as a reminder, the 2010 Medal of Honor convention will be held in Charleston, S.C. from Sept. 29 – Oct. 30.
Osama bin Laden threatened to kill more Americans if al Qaeda detainees are executed (as if he wouldn’t have done so otherwise).
Photo of the day: the Navy’s futuristic ride that belongs on a Bond film
Private security contractors have killed a Somali pirate for the first time.
This week in U.S. military history
An al Qaeda group in Indonesia has been kind enough to clear up the confusion about whether Jihad is peaceful or violent (the Qur’an also covers this matter – see for yourself).
In: Military Roundup · Tagged with: al Qaeda, jihad, Medal of Honor, Osama bin Laden, pirates, US Navy
Medal of Honor History: Hagemeister and McNerney
Just days from separating from the Army, Charles Hagemeister learned that he would receive the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Binh Dinh province of Vietnam on 20 Mar 1967. While Richard Nixon presented the Medal of Honor to Hagemeister he asked, “How long do you have left in the service, son?” Hagemeister smiled and replied, “Seventy-two hours, sir.” The president turned to a member of the brass and said, “I want you to talk to this young man after we’re done here and change his mind.”
It must have worked. Hagemeister retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1990.
David McNerney was serving his third tour in Vietnam on 22 Mar 1967. While looking for a missing reconnaissance unit near Polei Doc, Vietnam, his unit came under heavy fire from a numerically-superior North Vietnamese Army. His officers were killed, so McNerney took command, calling in artillery withing 65 feet of his own men. The fighting was so intense that McNerney climbed a tree in full view of the enemy in order to identify their location to friendly aircraft. When helicopters were needed to evacuate the wounded, McNerney moved through a fusillade of fire to obtain demolition charges from abandoned rucksacks outside the perimeter.
McNerney would later volunteer for another tour – his fourth.
In: Military History · Tagged with: Charles C. Hagemeister, David H. McNerney, Medal of Honor, Vietnam War
