On This Day in History: April 6

Vernon Baker finally receives the Medal of Honor

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No matter how many fucking Nazis you kill, if you’re Black you’re going to have to wait a long time for that Medal of Honor. Vernon Baker was the only Black man to earn such an award in World War II who was still alive when the government handed them out.

--On This Day in History, Shit Went Down: April 6, 1945--

The first time Baker tried to enlist in the U.S. Army, in April of 1941, the recruiter turned him away, saying, “We don’t have any quotas for you people.” Two months later he tried again with a different recruiter and was accepted. He became an infantryman in the 1st Battalion, attended Officer Candidate School, and became Lieutenant Baker in 1943. In the summer of 1944, he was part of the invasion of Italy.

Baker had been orphaned young and sent to live with his grandparents. A troubled child, he was later sent to Boy’s Town in Nebraska. But that anger would serve him well when it came to killing fucking Nazis. After high school he joined the army because his job prospects sucked. He hadn’t wanted the infantry, preferring logistics, but took what he could get. In Italy Baker commanded a weapons platoon in a segregated regiment. He hadn’t wanted the job, he didn’t even want to be an officer, but he proved skillful at it and quickly earned the respect of his men.

With only a month left in the war, Lieutenant Baker’s heroism would shine while others cowered. The Germans held Castle Aghinolfi, a stronghold on top of a hill filled with Nazi artillery. It was critical the castle be taken, but 70% of the men under his command were replacements with no combat experience. Previous attempts to take the castle had ended in catastrophe. The attack began on April 5, with Baker personally killing several German soldiers. But then the attacking platoons were spotted by those in the castle, and they launched a devastating mortar attack that blew the American attackers to shit. The company commander lost his nerve and basically ran away, telling Baker to cover his retreat.

With only eight men left alive and little ammo, Baker made the difficult decision to withdraw. He personally destroyed two German machinegun nests to allow his men to escape. Six of the eight made it back down the hill. He’d gone up the hill 12 hours earlier with 25 men.

Baker was all well fucking shit now I’m mad. The next day, April 6, 1945, he volunteered to lead another assault up the hill. With Lieutenant Baker leading the battalion through minefields and withering defensive fire, they took the castle from the fucking Nazis by day’s end. Two months later he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Five years after that he served as an Army parachutist in the Korean War.

In the 1990s the government decided to rectify the fact that Black soldiers fighting in WWII were denied the Medal of Honor. Seven were approved, but six of them were dead. President Clinton presented Baker with the medal in January of 1997.

Thanks, Vee, for the suggestion of today’s topic.

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