Thomas A Baker ★ World War II Gold Star Veteran from New York
On July 7, 1944 Sergeant Baker was declared a casualty of World War II. ★ He served with honor in the United States Army. ★ He is remembered by the people of New York. ★ May his positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.
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Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of Thomas A Baker is a work in progress. We've assembled a list of elements we are in the process of researching and reviewing. This profile was last edited on 2015-09-11 14:35:05.
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Missing : Core Data
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Missing : Supplemental Data
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Service Details
This Profile ID | 307089 |
Name | Thomas A Baker |
From | Troy, Rensselaer County, New York |
Birth Date | June 25, 1916 |
Casualty Date | July 7, 1944 |
War | World War II |
Service Branch | Army |
Rank | Sergeant |
Unit/Group | 105th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry division |
Casualty Type | KIA killed in action |
Location | Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands |
Burial | Saratoga National Cemetery, Schuylerville, New York |
Notable Awards |
★ Medal of Honor
★ Purple Heart |
Remembered |
Thomas A Baker is buried or memorialized at Saratoga National Cemetery, Schuylerville, New York. This is a National American Cemetery administered through the Department of Veteran's Affairs. |
Additional Details
By June 19, 1944, he was serving as a private in Company A of the 105th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Division. On that day, on Saipan in the Marianas Islands, he advanced ahead of his unit with a bazooka and destroyed a Japanese emplacement which was firing on his company.
Several days later, he single-handedly attacked and killed two groups of Japanese soldiers. On July 7, Baker's position came under attack by a large Japanese force. Although seriously wounded early in the attack, he refused to be evacuated and continued to fight in the close-range battle until running out of ammunition.
When a comrade was wounded while trying to carry him to safety, Baker insisted that he be left behind. At his request, his comrades left him propped against a tree and gave him a pistol, which had eight bullets remaining. When American forces retook the position, they found the pistol, now empty, and eight dead Japanese soldiers around Baker's body.
He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, for his actions in World War II during the Battle of Saipan. |
Commendations + Awards
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Please note this might not be a complete or completely accurate accounting. For some awards we use probability factors based on known service details. Thanks for your understanding.
★ Medal of Honor
★ World War II Victory Medal
★ Combat Infantryman Badge
★ Purple Heart
★ American Campaign Medal
★ Army Presidential Unit Citation
★ Army Good Conduct Medal
★ Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
New York Gold Star Veterans Gallery
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Honoring the men and women of
New York who gave their all for their country.
May their example of courage and sacrifice be our guide. To be strong and responsible in our lives as citizens of the world.
Through honest daily actions, we honor them.
▶ New York was home to over 30,000
American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
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Roy "Joker"
Sarah Jo "Lady Chaos"
▼ Primary Sources - These are repositories for artifacts, documents, diaries, manuscripts, and other information that serve as original and authoritative sources of information.
National Archives (NARA)
Library of Congress (LOC)
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
Findagrave.com
Ancestry.com
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Honoring our fallen.
Together. Uniting us in meaningful common cause. When we work together to honor our
Gold Star veterans, we heal our nation together.
It's a team effort. Everyone's invited to join as a
Citizen Historian and
Guardian of Honor. -
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