A Loyal Hero who Never Quit

As already told Baker was a man born with a never say die attitude. This was once again proved when he along with his very few infantry soldiers successfully captured another enemy stronghold. The most amazing fact is that Baker had volunteered for this operation despite the conditions being totally adverse.  He made the bold decision of remaining in Europe till 1947 as a constituent of the Allied occupation. But, Baker’s life was going to take a strange turn.

A Defiant Role Model

You won’t believe the fact that even after a commendable display of bravery in the Warfield, Baker lost his commission. The reason being that he didn’t have a college degree. From then on it proved to be a difficult and challenging journey for him. Consequently, he saw himself joining the army once again in the Korean War and served the nation as a military man till the year 1968. After that, he took the decision of working as a Red Cross counselor. Till that time he had no idea that he was going to get felicitated in the most amazing of ways.

Serving his Country after Service

Baker was enjoying an extremely peaceful life after working in the army as the father of three children and living with his wife in a cabin in Idaho. Unfortunately, his wife named Fern passed away in the year 1986. But, The Almighty blessed him with another lady in his life, this time it was a German tourist named Heidy who went on to become his second wife. Spending a life hunting in the jungles of Idaho, the man had no idea the magnitude of the recognition that he was about to get.

 A Hero Makes History

The time finally came for the world to recognize the brilliance and bravery of the man gave his all in the war. The year was 1997 when President Bill Clinton awarded the prestigious Medal of Honor to Vernon Baker in a ceremony at the White House. The whole nation admired and was proud of hearing an emotional Baker who poured his heart out in his speech.

The Humble Words of a Hero

Vernon Baker aged 77 glorified the walls of White House by his speech. He said,“I was thinking about what was going on up on the hill that day, I was an angry young man. We were all angry. But we had a job to do, and we did it. My personal thoughts were that I knew things would get better, and I’m glad to say that I’m here to see it.” But, there was something more in store for Baker.

A Revered Place in History

Though the medal of honor is the highest military decoration, the occasion was made unique as Baker an African American was the first World War II veteran to receive the honor from his race. It was all because of a study by Shaw University in the year 1992 regarding the discrimination against blacks which led to an upgraded honor given to them in place of the Distinguished Service Crosses.