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: 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
Vernon Baker Medal of Honor citation
The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pleasure in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to
FIRST LIEUTENANT
VERNON J. BAKER
ARMY
for service as set forth in the following
CITATION:
For The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to First Lieutenant (Infantry) Vernon J. Baker, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action on 5 and 6 April 1945, while serving with Company C, 370th Infantry Regiment, 2d Infantry Division, in action near Viareggio, Italy. Then Second Lieutenant Baker demonstrated outstanding courage and leadership in destroying enemy installations, personnel and equipment during his company’s attack against a strongly entrenched enemy in mountainous terrain. When his company was stopped by the concentration of fire from several machine gun emplacements, he crawled to one position and destroyed it, killing three Germans. Continuing forward, he attacked and enemy observation post and killed two occupants. With the aid of one of his men, Lieutenant Baker attacked two more machine gun nests, killing or wounding the four enemy soldiers occupying these positions. He then covered the evacuation of the wounded personnel of his company by occupying an exposed position and drawing the enemy’s fire. On the following night Lieutenant Baker voluntarily led a battalion advance through enemy mine fields and heavy fire toward the division objective. Second Lieutenant Baker’s fighting spirit and daring leadership were an inspiration to his men and exemplify the highest traditions of the Armed Forces.
Born: 17 Dec 1919, Cheyenne, Wy…. Also awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star… Retired in 1965 as a First Sergeant.
In: Men of Valor · Tagged with: Medal of Honor, US Army, US Army Medal of Honor recipients, Vernon J. Baker, World War II, World War II Medal of Honor recipients
