Medal Of Honor & Now Military Base Named After This Idaho Man

Not many have the honor of an entire military base named after them but not many have risked their life like Idaho’s Army Veteran Vernon Baker.

Photo: blogs.va.org

According to The Idaho Statesman, Baker is THE perfect candidate for such an honor. Baker started serving in the United States Army back in 1941 where he eventually became a second lieutenant in 1943 and a member of the 92nd Infantry Division.

Baker led his platoon into extremely High Risk situations where he and his men were constantly at risk of losing their lives.

It was only recently that seven black service members were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Baker was the only one still alive.

Baker’s military career lasted for more than 20 years. He served in the 11th Airborne Division in the Korean War and finally retired in 1968. At that point, he went back home to live his life in St. Maries, Idaho.

So which military base are we talking and why? Why are they going to change the name?

History has shown that many bases were named to honor confederate generals of the Civil War. The bases were named years after the Civil War was over and was done so by southern politicians who always had a political agenda. Slavery was a big part of that agenda and so now, many of these bases are being renamed to honor those that deserve to be honored.

Fort Benning was named after Harold Benning which we now know committed treason to create a country dedicated to human enslavement. Well, that’s not going to fly anymore!

We’re so proud of Baker, his sacrifices, and his love for a country that maybe didn’t always love him back. Hopefully this bit of love is enough to start that healing process for a lot of us. Thank you Vernon Baker. and thank you for representing our beautiful state of Idaho so well. God bless you!