Vernon Baker, black WWII hero who belatedly received Medal of Honor, dies of cancer at 90
By APWednesday, July 14, 2010
Medal of Honor hero Vernon Baker dies at age 90
ST. MARIES, Idaho — Vernon Baker, a black soldier who belatedly received the Medal of Honor for his role in World War II, has died at his home in Idaho. He was 90.
The Benewah County coroner says Baker died Tuesday of complications of brain cancer.
Then-President Bill Clinton presented the nation’s highest award for battlefield valor to Baker in 1997. He was one of just seven black soldiers to receive it and the only living recipient.
In 1944, 2nd Lt. Baker was sent to Italy with a full platoon of 54 men. On April 5, he and his soldiers found themselves behind enemy lines near Viareggio, Italy. Under concentrated enemy fire Baker and his platoon crawled to several machine gun nests, destroying them and killing 26 Germans.
