GENERAL ORDERS:
War Department, General Orders No. 35, May 9, 1945

CITATION:
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to Sergeant [then Private] Thomas Alexander Baker, Jr., United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Company A, 105th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Division, in action at Saipan, Mariana Islands, 19 June to 7 July 1944. When his entire company was held up by fire from automatic weapons and small-arms fire from strongly fortified enemy positions that commanded the view of the company, Sergeant Baker voluntarily took a bazooka and dashed alone to within 100 yards of the enemy. Through heavy rifle and machinegun fire that was directed at him by the enemy, he knocked out the strong point, enabling his company to assault the ridge. Some days later while his company advanced across the open field flanked with obstructions and places of concealment for the enemy, Sergeant Baker again voluntarily took up a position in the rear to protect the company against surprise attack and came upon two heavily fortified enemy pockets manned by two officers and ten enlisted men which had been bypassed. Without regard for such superior numbers, he unhesitatingly attacked and killed all of them. Five hundred yards farther, he discovered six men of the enemy who had concealed themselves behind our lines and destroyed all of them. On 7 July 1944, the perimeter of which Sergeant Baker was a part was attacked from three sides by from 3,000 to 5,000 Japanese. During the early stages of this attack, Sergeant Baker was seriously wounded but he insisted on remaining in the line and fired at the enemy at ranges sometimes as close as five yards until his ammunition ran out. Without ammunition and with his own weapon battered to uselessness from hand-to-hand combat, he was carried about 50 yards to the rear by a comrade, who was then himself wounded. At this point Sergeant Baker refused to be moved any farther stating that he preferred to be left to die rather than risk the lives of any more of his friends. A short time later, at his request, he was placed in a sitting position against a small tree. Another comrade, withdrawing, offered assistance. Sergeant Baker refused, insisting that he be left alone and be given a soldier's pistol with its remaining eight rounds of ammunition. When last seen alive, Sergeant Baker was propped against a tree, pistol in hand, calmly facing the foe. Later Sergeant Baker's body was found in the same position, gun empty, with eight Japanese lying dead before him. His deeds were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army.

Sergeant Thomas A. Baker (World War II) is a Notable burial of https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/geraldbhsolomonsaratoga.asp. He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for service in the U.S. Army, Company A, 105th Infantry, 27th Infantry Division, in recognition of gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life at Saipan, Mariana Islands, June 19-July 7, 1944. https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/thomas-a-baker-jr. 

Baker died July 7, 1944.  

*The preceding content is not intended as a comprehensive biography, but it highlights their significance as a result of military or civilian distinction, lasting achievements, or association with impactful national events. 

THOMAS A BAKER

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