James Richard Baird (born June 4, 1945) is an American businessman and politician who serves as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

's . Before being elected to Congress, Baird served from 2010 to 2018 as a member of the Indiana House of Representatives and as a Putnam County commissioner from 2006 to 2010. A

Vietnam veteran A Vietnam veteran is a person who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War. The term has been used to describe veterans who served in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States Armed Forces, and ot ...

, Baird was elected to Congress on November 6, 2018.

Career

Baird ran for Putnam County commissioner in 2006 and defeated the incumbent, Dennis O'Hair, in the primary. He represented Marion Township, Greencastle Township, Madison Township, and Clinton Township. He served as commissioner for the second district until his election to the State House in 2010. He was succeeded by Nancy Fogle. The

American Conservative Union The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Political Action Conference. Founded on ...

gave him a lifetime legislative evaluation of 82% in 2017.

Military service

Baird served in the ROTC at

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...

from 1963 to 1965. He attended the

Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country. How OCS is run differs between countries and services. Ty ...

Class 2–70 at Fort Benning and Jungle Warfare School in Panama from 1969 to 1970, and was commissioned in the Infantry. The

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

was sending infantry divisions home when Second Lieutenant Baird arrived in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

in 1970. Because of the excess of Infantry officers, he was assigned to the 523rd Transportation Company (Light Truck) at Cha Rang Valley. Baird and the other officers were highly respected by the men because they shared the same risks and burdens. The truck companies of the 8th Transportation Group delivered cargo along the most heavily ambushed road in Vietnam, QL19, through the Central Highlands in northern

II Corps Tactical Zone The II Corps () was a corps of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1955 to 1975. It was one of four corps in the ARVN, and it oversaw the central highlands region, north of ...

. The 523rd had five 5-ton

gun trucks A gun truck is an armored vehicle with one or more crew-served weapons, typically based on a commercial vehicle. Gun trucks often have improvised vehicle armor, such as scrap metal, concrete, gravel, or sandbags, which is added to a heavy truck ...

at the time. The Group Commander considered the 523rd his best truck company and when instructed to send two light truck companies north to

I Corps Tactical Zone I Corps () was a corps of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1955 to 1975. It was one of four corps of the ARVN. This was the northernmost region of South Vietnam, bordering ...

for the upcoming Laotian Incursion,

Operation Lam Son 719 Operation Lam Son 719 or 9th Route – Southern Laos Campaign ( vi, Chiến dịch Lam Sơn 719 or Chiến dịch đường 9 – Nam Lào) was a limited-objective offensive campaign conducted in the southeastern portion of the Kingdom of Laos ...

, in February through April 1971, he chose to send his best. The 523rd was attached to the 39th Transportation Battalion and stationed at the abandoned

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...

base Camp Vandergrift. During the two-and-a-half-month incursion into Laos, the

North Vietnamese Army The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the armed win ...

tried to close down the supply route with 23 convoy ambushes. Baird fought in two of the operation's deadliest ambushes and lost his left arm during the convoy ambush on March 12, 1971. He earned a

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

and two

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

s. In 2012, the 523rd Transportation Company was inducted into the Transportation Corps Hall of Fame for its heroism during Operation Lam Son 719.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

Baird ran for

Indiana's 4th congressional district Indiana's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Indiana. From 2003 to 2013 the district was based primarily in the central part of the state, and consisted of all of Boone, Clinton, Hendricks, Morgan, ...

in 2018. The seat was vacated by

Todd Rokita Theodore Edward Rokita (born February 9, 1970) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 44th and current Attorney General of Indiana. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from from 2011 to 2019. A membe ...

in his unsuccessful run for

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. Baird won the May 8 Republican primary and the November 6 general election.

2020

Baird was reelected in 2020 with 66.6% of the vote.

Tenure

Baird was the second-oldest member of the 116th Congress freshman class, after Democrat

Donna Shalala Donna Edna Shalala ( ; born February 14, 1941) is an American politician and academic who served in the Carter and Clinton administrations, as well as in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2019 to 2021. Shalala is a recipient of the Presid ...

, who was born in 1941. In December 2020, Baird was one of 126 Republican members of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

to sign an

amicus brief An ''amicus curiae'' (; ) is an individual or organization who is not a party to a legal case, but who is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. The decision on ...

in support of '' Texas v. Pennsylvania'', a lawsuit filed at the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

contesting the results of the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...

, in which Joe Biden defeated incumbent

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked

standing Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an ''erect'' ("orthostatic") position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the s ...

under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.

Committee assignments

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

** Subcommittee on Research and Technology (Ranking Member) ** Subcommittee on Environment * Committee on Agriculture ** Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit ** Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research

Caucus memberships

Republican Study Committee The Republican Study Committee (RSC) is a study group of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. As of 2021, the Chairman of the RSC is Representative Jim Banks of Indiana. Although the prima ...

Electoral history

Personal life

Baird's son,

Beau Beau may refer to: * Beau (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name, nickname or surname * Beau (guitarist) (born 1946), songwriter and 12-string guitar specialist * Beau (grape), another name for the Italian wine grape ...

, was elected chair of the Putnam County Republican Party in March 2017. Beau ran to replace him in the Indiana House of Representatives. Beau won the election on November 6, 2018. Baird resides in Greencastle, an outer suburb of Indianapolis.

References

External links

Congressman Jim Baird
official U.S. House website
Campaign website
*
James Baird at Ballotpedia
profile * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Baird, James 1945 births Living people American amputees United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War American politicians with disabilities County commissioners in Indiana 21st-century American politicians Republican Party members of the Indiana House of Representatives People from Greencastle, Indiana Purdue University College of Agriculture alumni University of Kentucky alumni United States Army officers Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana