John Philip Baca (born January 10, 1949) is a former

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 ...

soldier and a

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

veteran. He was 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 valo ...

, the highest decoration of the United States Armed Forces, for his actions in Vietnam.

Early life

Baca was born on January 10, 1949, in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

, and was raised in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

. Baca was drafted into the United States Army on June 10, 1968.

Vietnam War

By February 10, 1970, Baca was stationed in South Vietnam as a specialist four with Company D of the 1st Battalion,

12th Cavalry Regiment The 12th Cavalry is a cavalry regiment of the United States Army. History On 2 February 1901, Congress authorized the organization of the Twelfth Regiment of Cavalry, Army of the United States. Under this authority, the regiment was formed at ...

, 1st Cavalry Division. On that day, in Phước Long Province during Operation Toan Thang IV, he was serving on a recoilless rifle team when the lead

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may rang ...

of his company was ambushed. Baca led his team forward through intense fire to reach the besieged platoon. When a

fragmentation grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade gene ...

was tossed into their midst, he "unhesitatingly, and with complete disregard for his own safety," covered it with his helmet and then laid his body over the helmet, smothering the blast and saving eight fellow soldiers from severe injury or death. Baca survived his wounds and was formally awarded the

by President Richard M. Nixon on March 2, 1971. Two other soldiers in Company D, Allen J. Lynch and Rodney J. Evans, had previously earned the medal. In 1990, Baca returned to Vietnam with seven other soldiers of the Veterans Vietnam Restoration Project. The group spent eight weeks working alongside former

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 ...

soldiers building a health clinic in a village north of

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

. Baca rarely speaks publicly about the events for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. However, he prefers to recall an event that occurred on Christmas Day, 1969, when he was walking ahead of his unit, acting as "

point Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...

," and surprised a young North Vietnamese soldier sitting alone on top of an enemy bunker in the jungle. He saw that the soldier could not reach his rifle quickly and, not wanting to shoot him, yelled in Vietnamese for him to surrender. Not only was he able to take his "Christmas gift" alive and unharmed, the young man, twenty years later, was among the Vietnamese that Baca worked with building the clinic in 1990.

Post-war life

Baca remains active in social causes, particularly related to Vietnam veterans issues and the plight of the homeless. In 2002, a park was named in his honor in Huntington Beach, California. At the park's dedication on April 27, he read the following poem he penned for the occasion: After living in Huntington Beach, Baca moved to

Julian, California Julian is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,502, down from 1,621 at the time of the 2000 census. Julian is an official California Historical Landmark (No. 412). The Jul ...

, enjoying the relative solitude.

Medal of Honor citation

Decorations

Combat Infantryman Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of colonel and below, who fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of e ...

Silver Star * Bronze Star ribbon

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 ...

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, ...

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

Army Good Conduct Medal The Good Conduct Medal is one of the oldest military awards of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Navy's variant of the Good Conduct Medal was established in 1869, the Marine Corps version in 1896, the Coast Guard version in 1923, the Army ...

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four ...

Vietnam Service Medal The Vietnam Service Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces established on 8 July 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The medal is awarded to recognize service during the Vietnam War by all members of the U.S. Arm ...

with (at least) one campaign star *

Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation The Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross also known as the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross or Vietnam Cross of Gallantry ( vi, Anh-Dũng Bội-Tinh) is a military decoration of the former Government of South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam). The medal ...

Vietnam Civil Actions Medal Unit Citation * Vietnam Campaign Medal ribbon with 60- clasp

Vietnam Campaign Medal The Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, also known as the Vietnam Campaign Medal ( vi, Chiến Dịch Bội Tinh), is a South Vietnamese military campaign medal which was created in 1949, and awarded to French military personnel during the First ...

References

External links

John Baca, Medal of Honor recipient
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baca, John P. 1949 births Living people United States Army Medal of Honor recipients United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Silver Star United States Army soldiers Recipients of the Air Medal People from Providence, Rhode Island Vietnam War recipients of the Medal of Honor People from Huntington Beach, California People from Julian, California Military personnel from Rhode Island