FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Vernon Baker ~ July 26, 2010

Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World !! | StarCMC

[Kathy in Alaska]

 

Our Troops Rock!  Thank you for all you do!

For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces.

Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today!

---

~ Hall of Heroes ~

Vernon Baker

(Info found here.)

           

On Saturday, July 13th, another Medal of Honor recipient left us to guard the streets of heaven.  Thank you, sir, for your service to our country.

Vernon Joseph Baker (December 17, 1919 – July 13, 2010) was a United States Army officer who received the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in World War II. He was awarded the medal for his actions on April 5–6, 1945 near Viareggio, Italy, when he and his platoon killed 26 enemy soldiers and destroyed six machine gun nests, two observer posts and four dugouts. He was the only living black World War II veteran of the seven belatedly awarded the medal of honor when it was bestowed upon him by President William Jefferson Clinton in 1997.

Early life

Baker was born on December 17, 1919, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, the youngest of three children. After his parents died in a car accident when he was four, he and his two sisters were raised by their grandparents. His grandfather Joseph S. Baker, a railroad worker in Cheyenne, taught him to hunt in order to feed the family and became "the most influential figure in Vernon's life." His relationship with his grandmother was much more strained, and he spent a few years at the Boys Town orphanage in Nebraska to be away from her.

Baker graduated from high school in his grandfather's hometown of Clarinda, Iowa. He then worked as a railroad porter, a job he despised, until his grandfather's death from cancer in 1939. A series of menial jobs followed until his enlistment in the U.S. Army in mid-1941. At his first attempt to enlist, in April 1941, he was turned away, the recruiter stating "We don't have any quotas for you people." He tried again weeks later with a different recruiter and was accepted; he requested to become a quartermaster but was instead assigned to the infantry.

 

Military service

Baker entered the Army on June 26, 1941, six months prior to the U.S. entry into World War II. He went through training at Camp Wolters, Texas, and after completing Officer Candidate School was commissioned as a second lieutenant on January 11, 1943.

In June 1944, Baker was sent to Italy with the all-black 92nd Infantry Division. He was wounded in the arm in October of that year, hospitalized near Pisa, and in December rejoined his unit in reserve along the Gothic Line. In early spring, 1945, his unit was pulled from the reserves and placed in active combat. On the morning of April 5, he participated in an attack on the German stronghold of Castle Aghinolfi. During the assault, Baker led his heavy weapons platoon through German defenses to within sight of the castle, personally destroying three machine gun nests, two observation posts, two bunkers, and a network of German telephone lines along the way. It was for these actions that he was later awarded the Medal of Honor.

After the end of the war, Baker remained in Europe with the Allied occupation forces until 1947. He later joined the Army Airborne forces and left the military in 1968 as a first lieutenant.

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 have their awards upgraded to the Medal of Honor. On January 13, 1997, President Bill Clinton awarded the medal to seven African American World War II veterans; Baker was the only recipient still living at the time.

Baker's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

For extraordinary heroism in action on 5 and 6 April 1945, 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 an 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.

 

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission! 

[Kathy in Alaska]

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good morning/afternoon/evening/night Troops, wherever you are.

Thank you for doing your part to help keep all of us free and safe.

Coffee is always on........

How about a donut?

Cookies?

Veggies?

Sandwich?

[Kathy in Alaska]

God bless and keep safe our troops worldwide.

Good night.

Statler Brothers ~ How Great Thou Art

[E.G.C.]

Morning coffee bump.

Get a good night's sleep, Kathy. I have to take Chuck to the doctor for his scheduled appointment today.

He slipped off his chair last night as he was getting ready to go to bed. Not long after he went to bed, he slipped off the bed so I had to help him off both times.

He's been feeling a little weak the last few days.

[Arrowhead1952]

Good morning to everyone at the Canteen.
It's a nice 75º here this morning.

[tomkow6]

 

 

 

 

Good morning, Star!

Good morning, Kathy!

Good morning,

EVERYBODY!

GOOD

MORNING

TROOPS!

 

 
 
Practice safe eating - always use condiments.

 

 

[tomkow6]

CUBS 3

redparakeets 4

 

 

TODAY

JULY 26 @ 7:10 p.m. CT
 Radio: WGN 720

  VS 
 

 

CUBS 3

redparakeets 4

 

 

TODAY

JULY 26 @ 7:10 p.m. CT
 Radio: WGN 720

  VS 
 

[beachn4fun]

Good morning, Everyone. Good morning to our

Military, our Allies, and their families.

THANK YOU for all you do.

Thank you, Star, for preparing the Canteen for today’s activities.

BIG salute to Vernon Baker. May he R I P!

DC Metroland weather report

~ Today...Partly cloudy. High 89F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.

~ Tonight...Mainly clear skies. Low 67F. Winds light and variable.

Whew! Saturday was hotter than an oven. We survived our outing.

We had a heck of a storm roll through yesterday eve. We got a lot of rain and wind but seems northern Maryland got hit pretty good - lots of power outages and trees & limbs down. I'm still looking at different sites to see what areas got hit hardest. I know tornadoes touched down in PA, don't know how bad.

I start my vacation time on Friday so I'll have a short work week. This means I'll have limited time at the Canteen this week and next.

Time for me to make my rounds.
But, you stay right where you are. Cause...............I'll be bock!

Now remember, the Canteen is

Come on in and sit for a while.
There's always plenty of coffee, pancakes, conversation, silliness,
and plain old BS

REMEMBER THEM.......DEFENDERS OF FREEDOM

Cpl. Paul J. Miller, USMC,	Pfc. James J. Oquin, USA, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)	SSgt. Brian F. Piercy, USA, 82nd Airborne Division
	1st Lt. Michael L. Runyan, USA, 52nd Infantry, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team	Cpl. Joe L. Wrightsman, USMC, 3rd Battalion	Cpl. Matthew James Stenton, The Royal Dragoon Guards
	Premierløjtnant Jonas Peter Pløger, Charlie-kompagniet, der hører til Gardehusarregimentet, Royal Danish Army,

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT

Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allied military and the family members of the above. Honoring those who have served before.

[GodBlessUSA]

Good Morning E.G.C.
Sorry to read about Chuck slipping. I so hope he feels better today and does well with the Dr. appointment. Hopefully, Dr has something to help him feel better.
HUGS

[GodBlessUSA]

Good morning Arrowhead :)
How are you?
Wish I had eggs, hash browns and bacon this morning All we have here is toast w/butter or toast w/peanut butter. Big decision to make, lol ;)
HUGS

[GodBlessUSA]

Good Morning Beachn :)
How are you? It was horribly hot here Sat. too. The storms yesterday definitely helped. Windows are open here for a nice change. I almost ...almost miss snow ;)
HUGS

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Tomkow6.

((HUGS))Good morning, Ladies.

We'll see how the day goes with Chuck. I think part of his deal is he's not always hungry so he's not too eager to eat anything but I think it may be time for him to start building up an appetite.

How's it going for you this morning, Beach and Tomkow?

[beachn4fun]

LOL watch your mouth....no 4-letter words like s..w!

Good morning, GB ((HUGS))

wasn’t Saturday just awful? Every time I opened the door it was a blast of oppressive hot air. Yesterday was hot but not as oppressive.

The storm came as a surprise to me. I hadn’t heard the forecast.

Today is suppose to be less humid.

[beachn4fun]

psst...come here....
closer...closer
I want to tell you something

[GodBlessUSA]

LOL, SNOW!! ;)

It’s much nicer today. Going to try to go without the AC.

We had the surprise storms too. We had tornado warnings yesterday. One was not too far Friday but didn’t hit anything. whew.

[GodBlessUSA]

Wonderful! :) Enjoying the tunes.
Thanks LuvW

[PROCON]

Morning Beachie!!

Thank you kindly for the B-Day greetings, but who's counting, right?..:=)

Had a restful weekend, ready to hit the new week!

Weather back into the 80's.

Have a great day!

[Arrowhead1952]

LOL. I got this in my email today.

---

Important Message from the White House on Racism
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEDk9o3fxuI

[beachn4fun]

Good morning, dear ((HUGS))

How was the weekend? Did you get any of Bonnie?

[beachn4fun]

Good morning and ((HUGS)) EG. All is well even though itz Monday. Trying to organize work that has to be done before I leave on Thursday.

Whatz up with Chuck? Being stubborn? LOL