John F. Baker, Jr.

Infobox Military Person
name= John F. Baker, Jr.
born= Birth date and age|1945|10|30|df=yes
placeofbirth= Davenport, Iowa
placeofdeath=
placeofburial=


caption= Sgt. John F. Baker Jr.
nickname=
allegiance=flagicon|United States United States of America
branch=
serviceyears=
rank= Private
commands=
unit=
battles=Vietnam War
awards=

John F. Baker, Jr. (born 30 October 1945) in Davenport, Iowa is a retired United States Army Sergeant who served in the Vietnam War and received the Medal of Honor.

Biography

John Baker attended Moline High School from 1962 to 1966, but dropped out before graduating and joined the army. At only 5’ 1” he was a gymnast before joining the army. His wife thought that gave him the strength and stamina to carry his buddies to safety. He became a “tunnel rat” in Vietnam, a soldier who entered Viet Cong tunnels searching out the enemy and destroying their caches of war material. Baker made the military his career, retiring in 1989. He then began working as a computer analyst at a Veterans Hospital in South Carolina. In addition to serving as the Vice-President of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, he serves as a member on the Nation’s Monuments and Cemeteries Committee.

Career

Baker entered the U.S. Army in Moline, Illinois, serving as a private in A Company, 2nd Battalion of the 27th Infantry, 25th Division. In Vietnam, Baker took part in Operation Attleboro which began in September 1966. On 5 November 1966, Baker and his unit were called to assist another squad who were taking enemy fire. En route, A Company began to take fire and lost their lead soldier. Together with two other soldiers, Baker took over the head of the column and assisted in destroying two enemy positions. They were moving to take two others when a hand grenade knocked Baker off of his feet.

With the two other soldiers wounded, Baker "single handed" [cite web|accessdate=2007-03-11
url=http://www.medalofhonor.com/JohnBaker.htm
title=Medal of Honor citation] destroyed another bunker before recovering his comrades. Despite taking further fire from enemy bunkers and snipers, Baker continually fell back to replenish ammunition and take back several wounded. For these actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor along with Captain Robert F. Foley, who also received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the battle. When awarded the citation, President Lyndon B Johnson stated:

cquote|The battlefield is the scarred and the lonely landscape of man’s greatest failure. But is a place where heroes walk. Today we come here to the East Room of the White House to honor two soldiers, two soldiers who—in the same battle and at the same time—met the surpassing tests of their lives with acts of courage far beyond the call of duty. Captain Foley and Sergeant Baker fought in the same company. Now, together, they join the noblest company of them all. They fought because their Nation believed that only by honoring its commitments, and only by denying aggression its conquest, could the conditions of peace be created in Southeast Asia and the world. [cite web
accessdate=2007-03-11 |url=http://www.state.ia.us/government/dca/shsi/museum/exhibits/medal-of-honor/baker_j_vietnam/index.htm
title=Private John F. Baker, Jr. — Act of Valor
work=Iowa Medal of Honor Heroes
publisher=State Historical Society of Iowa]

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Sergeant (then Pfc.), U.S. Army, Company A, 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Republic of Vietnam, 5 November 1966. Entered service at: Moline, Ill. Born: 30 October 1945, Davenport, Iowa.

Citation:

:For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. En route to assist another unit that was engaged with the enemy, Company A came under intense enemy fire and the lead man was killed instantly. Sgt. Baker immediately moved to the head of the column and together with another soldier knocked out 2 enemy bunkers. When his comrade was mortally wounded, Sgt. Baker, spotting 4 Viet Cong snipers, killed all of them, evacuated the fallen soldier and returned to lead repeated assaults against the enemy positions, killing several more Viet Cong. Moving to attack 2 additional enemy bunkers, he and another soldier drew intense enemy fire and Sgt. Baker was blown from his feet by an enemy grenade. He quickly recovered and single-handedly destroyed 1 bunker before the other soldier was wounded. Seizing his fallen comrade's machine gun, Sgt. Baker charged through the deadly fusillade to silence the other bunker. He evacuated his comrade, replenished his ammunition and returned to the forefront to brave the enemy fire and continue the fight. When the forward element was ordered to withdraw, he carried 1 wounded man to the rear. As he returned to evacuate another soldier, he was taken under fire by snipers, but raced beyond the friendly troops to attack and kill the snipers. After evacuating the wounded man, he returned to cover the deployment of the unit. His ammunition now exhausted, he dragged 2 more of his fallen comrades to the rear. Sgt. Baker's selfless heroism, indomitable fighting spirit, and extraordinary gallantry were directly responsible for saving the lives of several of his comrades, and inflicting serious damage on the enemy. His acts were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.

ee also

*List of Medal of Honor recipients
*List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Vietnam War

Notes

External links

*cite web
accessdate=2007-03-11
url=http://www.medalofhonor.com/JohnBaker.htm
title= Vietnam War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient Sgt. John F. Baker Jr.
publisher=MedalofHonor.com

*cite web
accessdate=2007-03-11
url=http://www.state.ia.us/government/dca/shsi/museum/exhibits/medal-of-honor/baker_j_vietnam/index.htm
title=Private John F. Baker, Jr. — Act of Valor
work=Iowa Medal of Honor Heroes
publisher=State Historical Society of Iowa