July 13, 2010 Vernon Joseph Baker, Medal of Honor recipient, died. Baker was born December 17, 1919 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He graduated from high school and worked several menial jobs before enlisting in the United States Army in 1941. After completing Officer Candidate School, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1943. In 1944, […]
Tag Archives | Distinguished Service Cross
July 5th in African American History – Henry Lincoln Johnson
July 5, 1929 Henry Lincoln Johnson, soldier and recipient of several medals, died penniless and without official recognition from the United States government. Johnson was born in 1897 in Alexandria, Virginia and moved to Albany, New York in his early teens. Johnson enlisted in the army in 1917, joining the all-black New York National Guard […]
February 15th in African American History – Charles Leroy Thomas
February 15, 1980 Charles Leroy Thomas, Medal of Honor recipient, died. Thomas was born April 17, 1920 in Alabama. Before World War II, he worked at Ford Motor Company and was a student at Wayne State University. On December 14, 1944 Second Lieutenant Thomas led a task force in the capture of Climbach, France. Thomas’ […]