FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Vernon Baker ~ 21 October 2024

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[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.

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---

~ Hall of Heroes ~

Vernon Baker

(Info found here.)

           

On Saturday, July 13th, 2010, 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, 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! 

[PROCON]

Hi Kathy, thanks for tonight's Canteen and for honoring this Hero!

Anymore internet issues?

[mairdie]

The Medal of Honor was designed in 1904 by Major General George Lewis Gillespie, Jr.

I researched him years ago because he was the grandfather of one of my cousins.

[SkyDancer]

~ Evening All ~

~

~ Welcome To My World ~

I’m Down There Somewhere

[Kathy in Alaska]

~ Hall of Heroes: Vernon Baker ~

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[left that other site]

Hi Everybody!

(((HUGS)))

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Pro...still pretty slow, but the last known complete drop was about midnight. I was relaxing and watching tv....then gone.

Good so far today, but oh so annoying.

Ready for the new week?

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, mairdie...thanks for sharing a cool part of your military history.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Janey...((HUGS))...hope you enjoyed your weekend and are ready for the new week.

[spel_grammer_an_punct_polise]

El Amor - Sonora Ponceña ( Vacilando - MK Cover )

Tito Rojas Medley 1 ( En Vivo ) Grupo Cache Video Oficial

ALBA MORENO - TU LLAMADA

Gente De Zona Hace Un Emotivo Tributo A Celia Cruz - Premio Lo Nuestro 2024

Festival Toros Y Salsa - Venezuelan Masters All Stars - 07-09-24

[radu]

Greetings to all at the Canteen!

To all our military men and women, past and present,

[radu]

Howdy, Kathy.

Dang, right before our eyes last night, Lake Hood froze over. No wind to ruffle the lake’s surface so it took no time at all. STILL frozen today. It’s thin enough, a few seaplanes plowed through it but that couldn’t have been good for the floats.

[mairdie]

Not MY military history. Just military history. I don’t share my cousin’s genealogy on that general’s side. Though I do have two generals on my side during that period - Brig. General Henry Lawrence Burnett, who was Ohio Cavalry until his horse rolled on him, and then he was brought to DC by Sec Stanton to run the Lincoln Assassination Investigation and be Special Judge Advocate for the trial.
https://www.iment.com/maida/familytree/burnett/lincoln.htm

The other is his father-in-law, Brig. General Henry Livingston Lansing, who started the NY Military Association with his brother, Brig. General Henry Seymour Lansing, who captured the first cannon in the Civil War. My Henry L commanded the 31st NY Militia in Buffalo, supplying men for the Draft Riots of New York City.
https://www.iment.com/maida/familytree/military/milassny.htm

The family is pure military all the way back into the 1600s. There’s a whole bunch of documents from my various ggfathers in the Rev War and Colonial Wars.

Colonel Henry Bicker at Valley Forge left an Orderly Book.
https://www.iment.com/maida/familytree/gibson/orderbook2ndpa-4.htm

Major Henry Livingston, Jr. left a diary of the invasion of Canada
https://henrylivingston.com/writing/prose/revdiary.htm

Henry Livingston’s Rev War Diary - Hudson River Painters
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt9VZexn1ic

And earlier, Captain Martin Cregier’s Journal of the Esopus war
Original pages:
https://encyclopedia.nahc-mapping.org/document/journal-esopus-war-captain-martin-cregier

Translation:
https://encyclopedia.nahc-mapping.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/EsopusJournal1663_MartinCreiger_Translation.pdf

[radu]

Howdy, PRO.

Was your weekend as lazy as you had in mind?
Mine was. LOL

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, ML...((HUGS))...hope you and Blue got out today.

Mostly nice today, but quite chilly. It’s 30 on my porch right now.

[ExTexasRedhead]

Dr. Sebastian Gorka Speaks On Working For Trump, America First, & U.S. Security Threats | TRS 025

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez8zfxd7vHA

Scroll to the story Dr. Gorka is telling about Green Berets & President Trump at the 00:28:59 point at the link above.

00:28:59 - Dr. Gorka Shares a Story About Trump Meeting With Green Berets

[SkyDancer]

Evening Kathy! ((HUGS)) Yep, boss making up schedule - business is good. I’ve three flights this week, weather not conducive for jumping, lots of wind and rain. Take Care, be Safe. J xx

[The Mayor]

October 21

Jesus the Branch

Bible in a Year :

• Isaiah 62-64
• 1 Timothy 1

I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right.

Jeremiah 33:15

Rising among the red mountains of Sedona, Arizona, is the beautiful Chapel of the Holy Cross. Entering the small chapel, I was immediately drawn to an unusual sculpture of Jesus on the cross. Instead of a traditional cross, Jesus is shown crucified on the branches of a tree with two trunks. Horizontally, a severed, dead trunk represents the tribes of Israel in the Old Testament that rejected God. The other trunk grows upward and branches out to symbolize the flourishing tribe of Judah and the family line of King David.  

The symbolically significant art points to an important prophecy in the Old Testament about Jesus. Although the tribe of Judah was living in captivity, the prophet Jeremiah gave a hopeful message from God: “I will fulfill the good promise I made” (Jeremiah 33:14) to provide a rescuer who would “do what is just and right in the land” (v. 15). One way the people would know the identity of the rescuer was He would “sprout from David’s line” (v. 15), meaning the rescuer would be a physical descendant of King David.

The sculpture skillfully captures an important truth that in the details of Jesus’ family lineage, God was faithful to do all that He promised. Even more, it’s a reminder that His faithfulness in the past gives us reassurance that He’ll be faithful to fulfill His promises to us in the future.

Reflect & Pray

What are other significant promises from God that Jesus fulfilled? How does their fulfillment encourage you?

Thank You, Almighty God, that You fulfill all Your promises.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, spel, and thank you for the tunes. Good for working by...((HUGS))

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, radu...IT is here! 17 on my porch at midnight last night. It has finally gotten about freezing today.