John Franklin Baker Jr. (October 30, 1945 – January 20, 2012) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

master sergeant A master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries. Israel Defense Forces The (abbreviated "", master sergeant) is a non-commissioned officer () rank in the Israel Defense Force ...

who served in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

and a recipient of the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

Personal life

Baker was born in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

, and attended

Moline High School Moline High School is a public four-year high school located in Moline, Illinois, a city in Rock Island County, in the Midwest area of the United States. The school is the only public high school in the city of Moline, and is part of Moline-C ...

from 1963 to 1966. At 5' 1", he was a gymnast before joining the army. He became a "

tunnel rat The tunnel rats were American, Australian, New Zealand, and South Vietnamese soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the Vietnam War. Later, similar teams were used by the Soviet Army during the Soviet–Afghan ...

" in Vietnam, a soldier who entered

Viet Cong The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, and ...

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 Veterans' health care in the United States is separated geographically into 19 regions (numbered 1, 2, 4–10, 12 and 15–23)In January 2002, the Veterans Health Administration announced the merger of VISNs 13 and 14 to create a new, combined n ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. In addition to serving as the Vice-President of th
Congressional Medal of Honor Society
he served as a member on the Nation's Monuments and Cemeteries Committee. In 2008, the I-280 Bridge, connecting

with

Rock Island, Illinois Rock Island is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 37,108 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the confluence of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock a ...

, was renamed the Sergeant John F. Baker Jr. Bridge in his honor. In 2018, the

Rock Island Arsenal The Rock Island Arsenal comprises 946 acres (383 ha) and is located on Arsenal Island, originally known as Rock Island, on the Mississippi River between the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. It is home to the United Stat ...

in Rock Island, Illinois put his name on a street in its new Eagle Point Housing Area. Baker suffered from heart problems in the last years of his life and began using oxygen in 2010. He died aged 66 on January 20, 2012, after collapsing at his Northeast Richland home.

Career

Baker entered the U.S. Army in

Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in the 2020 census, it is the largest city in Rock Island County and the List of municipalities in Illinois, ninth-most populous in Illinois outside ...

, serving as a private in A Company, 2nd Battalion of the

27th Infantry Regiment The 27th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed the "Wolfhounds", is an infantry regiment of the United States Army established in 1901, traditionally aligned with the 25th Infantry Division for more than 8 decades. It served in the Philippine–Americ ...

, 25th Division. In Vietnam, he took part in

Operation Attleboro Operation Attleboro was a Vietnam War search and destroy operation initiated by the 196th Light Infantry Brigade with the objective to discover the location(s) of People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC) base areas and force them to f ...

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 A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

knocked Baker off his feet. With the two other soldiers wounded, Baker "single-handedly" destroyed another

bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

before recovering his comrades. Despite taking further fire from enemy bunkers and snipers, he 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 Robert Franklin Foley (born May 30, 1941) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who served in the Vietnam War. He received the Medal of Honor for leading his unit in an assault on a strong enemy position on November 5, 1966, during O ...

, who also received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the battle. When awarding the medal, President

Lyndon B Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served as ...

stated:

Decorations

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

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, November 5, 1966. Entered service at: Moline, Ill. Born: October 30, 1945, Davenport, Iowa. Citation:

References

External links