FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Sgt John F Baker, Jr ~ 19 October 2025

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[Kathy in Alaska]

 

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~ Hall of Heroes ~

SGT John F. Baker, Jr.

(Info found here.)

           

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

John Baker was born in Davenport, Iowa and attended Moline High School from 1963 to 1966. 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.

In 2008, the I-280 Bridge, connecting Davenport, Iowa with Rock Island, Illinois, was renamed the Sergeant John F. Baker, Jr., Bridge in honor of Baker.

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 November 5, 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 handedly" 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:

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."

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

 

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[PROCON]

Greetings & salutations, Kathy!

Thanks for honoring tonight's Hero!

I kept my weekend goals, extreme laziness, hope you had a great weekend too!

[Kathy in Alaska]

~ Hall of Heroes: Sgt John F Baker, Jr ~

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[radu]

Greetings to all at the Canteen!

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

THANK YOU
for your service!

[radu]

HOwdy, Kathy.

Another gorgeous, though chilly, day up there. There’s enough snow on the mountains now to make a beautiful view on the Lake Hood cam.

I hope you made some “you” time this weekend to chill out.

[radu]

Howdy, PRO.

Sounds like we had a similar weekend. LOL Nice and lazy.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Pro...congrats on meeting your goals.

Sgt Baker was a hero we need to remember.

[PROCON]

Hiya radu, as the weather gets cooler I tend to stay inside more, just makes sense.

You and the kittehs doing OK?

[SkyDancer]

~ Evening All! ~

~

~ Welcome To My World ~

I’m Down There Somewhere

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, radu...pretty nice day today. Lots of frost this morning.

Something is close to the ducks territory. They have come up, warily, multiple times, and vacated FAST repeatedly!! I can’t find a hawk or an owl. But the ducks are staying in the creek.

[imardmd1]

Doubtless continuimg his faithful allegiance to his fellow GIs through ongoing service and compassion for them throughout the rest of his life, multiplying the meaning of "Honorable Discharge" for everyone who possesses such a writ, never to be rescinded.

The knowledge of such a happening is an occasion to bring humility to mind and conduct of the same fellow GI servicemen whose sworn duty is to uphold the Constitution of the United States with their own lives at stake.

[radu]

We aren’t as cool as you are yet but we’re workin’ on it.
I got the mowing finished Friday and spent yesterday recuperating. A cold front came through overnight and today was cool and VERY windy. A good day to stay in.
Day’s will be a little more comfortable this week and I’ll get out a bit. Lots of tree trash to pick up after today’s wind.

The kitties are doing well. Still obnoxious when they’re awake but that’s part of their genetic makeup. :-)

[luvie]

John F. Baker, Jr.
Born October 30, 1945-Davenport, IA
Retired United States Army Sergeant
Served in the Vietnam War
Medal of Honor recipient.
For conspicuous gallantry
and intrepidity in action
at the risk of his life above
and beyond the call of duty.
What a brave hero! ❤️🇺🇸💙

[radu]

They’d said it was going to be pretty cold overnight so frost isn’t a surprise. Sunrise was gorgeous with all the pink, orange, and turquoise across the sky behind the mountains.
Now clouds are moving in with another big system in the Gulf of Alaska. At least it waited and let y’all have a pretty weekend for a change.

Poor ducks. I wonder what’s lying in wait for them this time. :-(

The swans have apparently moved on south after three days of gorging at Lake Hood. They ate VERY well during their stopover.

[radu]

Howdy, luvie.

A more pleasant day there today?
VERY windy here and it made our 65 degrees uncomfortable.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, imardmd1, and welcome to the Canteen.

He was, indeed, faithful in his allegiance to his fellow GIs.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Janey...((HUGS))...hope your weather gets better before your next ubering.

[luvie]

Hey there, radu!

Yeah, it was wonderful! It only got up to about 77 and right now it’s 67. I might just have to put on some sox pretty soon. It’s kind of chilly in the house. But it feels GOOD! LOL!

Sorry it was so windy there. That kind of ruins those nice fall temps. Thank goodness you didn’t have to mow anything. I noticed that you’re supposed to get down into the high 40s tonight. WoW!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Pro!!

1st!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

radu!!

2nd!!