The President of the United States
in the name of The Congress
takes pleasure in presenting the
Medal of Honor
to
First Lieutenant Vernon J. Baker
General Order:
Citation:
For extraordinary heroism in action on 5 and 6 April 1945, near Viareggio, Italy. Then
Second Lieutenant Baker demonstrated outstanding courage and leadership in destroying
enemy installations, personnel and equipment during his company's attack against a
strongly entrenched enemy in mountainous terrain. When his company was stopped by the
concentration of fire from several machine gun emplacements, he crawled to one position
and destroyed it, killing three Germans. Continuing forward, he attacked and enemy
observation post and killed two occupants. With the aid of one of his men, Lieutenant
Baker attacked two more machine gun nests, killing or wounding the four enemy soldiers
occupying these positions. He then covered the evacuation of the wounded personnel of his
company by occupying an exposed position and drawing the enemy's fire. On the following
night Lieutenant Baker voluntarily led a battalion advance through enemy mine fields and
heavy fire toward the division objective. Second Lieutenant Baker's fighting spirit and
daring leadership were an inspiration to his men and exemplify the highest traditions of
the Armed Forces.
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