SECOND LIEUTENANT

VERNON J. BAKER

Enlistment: 1941 U.S. Army

Branch: Army

Division: 307th Infantry, Weapons Platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion

Highest Rank: 2nd Lieutenant

Theater: World War II

Vernon J. Baker is a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, and thus is the most decorated Conley family member in the 160-year military legacy.

Baker was orphaned at only four (4) years due to his parents’ untimely death caused by what was believed to be Tuberculosis (TB), and he was raised by his grandparents in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

A pugnacious youth, he enlisted 1941, as World War II unfolded. He was assigned to the Quartermaster Corps of the 25th Infantry at Geiger Field in Spokane, Washington. He hungered for combat experience.

Baker received his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant on January 11, 1943, and married Helen Conley Stewart, who was granddaughter of Paschal ‘Pony’ Conley and the niece of Congressman Bennett Stewart. Vernon and Helen had two children: Vernon and Michael. In 1944, he landed at Naples, Italy, and quickly rose to command of Weapons Platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion, 370th Infantry.

He led his troops through enemy mine fields and heavy fire to secure an occupied mountain objective. Of the 25 men in his platoon in Italy, 19 were killed, as Baker personally eliminated an observation post, which included three (3) enemy machine gun nests under heavy assault.

His Captain recommended Baker for the Distinguished Service Cross, which he received on July 4, 1945, in a ceremony in Viareggio, Italy. He was denied Honors due to the ethnic bias common in that era. Baker continued to serve in the Army dutifully until he retired in 1968. A local hero, he worked for the Red Cross for more than 20 years, and retired in rural Idaho