Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
Addison Earl Baker (January 1, 1907 – August 1, 1943) was commander of the
93rd Bombardment Group
The 93d Air Ground Operations Wing (93d AGOW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command, Ninth Air Force. It is stationed as a tenant unit at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia.
The wing directs the 3d Air Support Operations ...
(Heavy) in the
U.S. Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
who led the group on the low-altitude
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
bombing mission of
oil refineries
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liquefie ...
at
Ploieşti,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
,
Operation Tidal Wave
Operation Tidal Wave was an air attack by bombers of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) based in Libya on nine oil refineries around Ploiești, Romania on 1 August 1943, during World War II. It was a strategic bombing mission and part of ...
. For his actions during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
he received the
United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
's highest military decoration, the
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
(posthumously).
Baker joined the Army Air Corps from
Akron, Ohio
Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...
in 1929, and earned his wings and a commission in 1931.
Early military service
Baker enlisted in the Army Air Corps on January 17, 1929, and graduated from the Air Corps Training Center on February 28, 1931. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the
Officers' Reserve Corps on February 27, 1931. On July 6, 1934, he was commissioned in the Michigan National Guard, serving until October 5, 1935. He later transferred to the Ohio National Guard, and was commissioned in the
112th Observation Squadron
The 112th Fighter Squadron (112 FS) is a unit of the Ohio Air National Guard 180th Fighter Wing located at Toledo Air National Guard Base, Ohio. The 112th is equipped with the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon.
The squadron is a descendant organization ...
on April 15, 1936. He was inducted into federal service on 25 November 1940.
Final mission
On August 1, 1943, the 93d Bomb Group, one of three from the
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Force ...
sent to the
Ninth Air Force
The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...
especially for this mission, took to the air at
Benghazi
Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη (''Berenice'') and ''Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Ghazi ...
,
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
. Piloting ''Hell's Wench'', a
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...
(Serial 42-40994), Baker led the 93rd as the second formation in the five-group mission of 177 aircraft. Co-piloting the aircraft was a volunteer and former member of the 93d,
Major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
John L. Jerstad.
En route the aircraft carrying the mission navigator crashed at sea. As a result, when the force reached the target area, the lead group turned at the wrong point and flew towards
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
. Baker attempted to warn the mission commander of this error, but when that failed, led the remainder of the force to the correct turning point.
Although ''Hell's Wench'' was in flames and had been seriously damaged by German
anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
guns, Baker maintained formation and bombed his target. Subsequently, Baker broke formation to avoid a mid-air collision with bombers from the lead group, now arriving in the target area from the opposite direction. He attempted to gain altitude so that his crew could escape by parachute, but despite his efforts, ''Hell's Wench'' crashed and exploded, killing Baker and the other nine airmen aboard.
His body was initially not identified after being recovered by the Romanians, and he was buried as an unknown American in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery at Ploieşti. After the war, the American Graves Registration Committee attempted to identify as many of the unknowns from the Ploieşti mission as possible, but Baker's remains were among those that were still unidentifiable with the forensics technology of the 1940s. He was memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the
Florence American Cemetery and Memorial
The Florence American Cemetery and Memorial is about 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) south of Florence, Italy, about two miles (3 km) south of the Florence-Impruneta exit of the Rome-Milan autoroute. It covers about , chiefly on the west side of ...
, in
Florence, Italy
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
. On April 13, 2022, the U.S. government's
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Defense whose mission is to recover American military personnel listed as prisoners of war (POW) or missing in action (MIA) from designated past conflicts, ...
announced that Baker's remains had been identified on April 8, 2022 using modern forensics techniques. A rosette will be placed next to his name on the Tablets of the Missing to denote that he has been accounted for.
U.S. Army Air Forces Lt. Col. Addison E. Baker, who earned the Medal of Honor posthumously, was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery on September 14, 2022.
Honors
On March 11, 1944, Baker was
posthumously
Posthumous may refer to:
* Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death
* Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death
* ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987
* ''Posthumous'' (E ...
awarded the
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
. Major Jerstad also received the Medal of Honor, on October 28, 1943, for his role on the mission.
Medal of Honor citation
Rank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army Air Corps, 93d Heavy Bombardment Group. Place and date: Ploesti Raid, Rumania, August 1, 1943. Entered service at: Akron, Ohio. Born: January 1, 1907, Chicago, Ill. G.O. No.: 20, March 11, 1944.
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy on August 1, 1943. On this date he led his command, the 93d Heavy Bombardment Group, on a daring low-level attack against enemy oil refineries and installations at Ploesti, Rumania. Approaching the target, his aircraft was hit by a large caliber antiaircraft shell, seriously damaged and set on fire. Ignoring the fact he was flying over terrain suitable for safe landing, he refused to jeopardize the mission by breaking up the lead formation and continued unswervingly to lead his group to the target upon which he dropped his bombs with devastating effect. Only then did he leave formation, but his valiant attempts to gain sufficient altitude for the crew to escape by parachute were unavailing and his aircraft crashed in flames after his successful efforts to avoid other planes in formation. By extraordinary flying skill, gallant leadership and intrepidity, Lt. Col. Baker rendered outstanding, distinguished, and valorous service to our Nation.
See also
*
List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II
This is a list of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II. The Medal of Honor was created during the American Civil War and is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces. The recip ...
References
External links
*
1907 births
1943 deaths
United States Army Air Forces Medal of Honor recipients
United States Army Air Forces colonels
United States Army Air Forces personnel killed in World War II
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor
Aviators killed by being shot down
Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Romania
Recipients of the Silver Star
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Recipients of the Air Medal
* Th
93rd Bombardment Group Museum Station 104, Hardwick. A small museum on the actual airfield site in Nissen (Quonset) and brick built huts.
{{USAF Space Command
Squadrons of the United States Space Force
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery