ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 14, 1997 TAG: 9701140068
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: MICHAEL E. RUANE KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
As he stood at attention in his dark suit and spit-shined shoes and the president of the United States fastened the sky-blue ribbon of the Medal of Honor around his neck, Vernon Baker's mind was elsewhere Monday.
The president shook his hand, the dignitaries' applause rose to the glittering chandeliers of the East Room of the White House and Baker, 77, was, for a moment, back in the bloody hills of Italy in 1945.
He was with the other black GIs of 1st Platoon, Company C, he said afterward, getting cut up by the Germans and fighting to survive a battle that none knew would lead to this glorious moment 50 years hence.
But his mind quickly returned to the pomp and the ceremony, and the realization that he was the first living black veteran ever to receive the highest military honor the United States has to give for service in World War II.
``We've all been vindicated,'' he said later. ``The only thing I can say to those who are not here with me is: `Thank you fellows. Well done. I'll always remember you.'''
Baker, a diminutive, gray-haired man from St. Maries, Idaho, was one of seven black World War II veterans on whom President Clinton bestowed the Medal of Honor in a moving White House ceremony Monday.
The other six are deceased, and the hallowed medal for valor was given to relatives or, in one case where no relatives could be found, to an Army official.
The ceremony was attended by a stunning array of military brass, from retired Gen. Colin Powell to Defense Secretary William Perry, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Shalikashvili.
Clinton called the seven ``the bravest of the brave.''
``Now and forever,'' he said, ``the truth will be known about these African Americans who gave so much that the rest of us might be free They were prepared to sacrifice everything for freedom - even though freedom's fullness was denied to them. The men we honor here today were denied their nation's highest honor, but their deeds could not be denied, and they cleared the way to a better world.
``Today, America is profoundly thankful for the patriotism and the nobility of these men and for the example they set which helped us to find a way to become a more just, more free nation.''
Baker, a lieutenant during the war, was honored along with Staff Sgt. Edward A. Carter Jr. of Los Angeles; Lt. John R. Fox of Cincinnati; Pfc. Willy F. James Jr. of Kansas City; Staff Sgt. Ruben Rivers of Oklahoma City; Lt. Charles L. Thomas of Detroit; and Pvt. George Watson of Birmingham, Ala.
Baker was cited for killing nine enemy soldiers and destroying five German positions during a fierce battle near Castle Aghinolfi in northern Italy in April 1945.
The men were given the medal after years of campaigning by relatives and legislators, and after an Army-commissioned study by Shaw University concluded that chiefly racism had prevented World War II black soldiers from getting the coveted honor.
``It's a great day,'' said Baker, who in 1941 had been ordered with an epithet to the back of a bus when he reported for basic training to Camp Wolters, in Mineral Wells, Texas.
``I was a soldier, and I had a job to do,'' he said of life in the segregated Army of World War II. ``As a black soldier I fought a war on two sides. I was an angry young man and all of my soldiers that were with me were angry. We were all angry. But we had a job to do and we did it. We fought a segregated war. My personal thought was I knew things would get better. And I'm glad to say that I'm here to see it.''
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