Skullfucker extraordinaire Sgt. Thomas A. Baker enlisted in the Army in 1940, part of the 27th ID. and by June 1944, he found himself fighting on Saipan.
During an attack, Sgt. Baker advanced ahead of his unit with a bazooka and single handedly destroyed a Japanese emplacement which was firing on his company.
Days later, voluntarily took up a position in the rear to protect the company against surprise attack and came upon 2 heavily fortified enemy pockets manned by 2 officers and 10 enlisted men which had been bypassed. Without regard for such superior numbers, he unhesitatingly attacked and killed all of them. Five hundred yards farther, he killed 6 more.
On 7 July 1944, the perimeter of which Sgt. Baker was a part was attacked from 3 sides by 3,000 to 5,000 Japanese. During the early stages of this attack, Sgt. Baker was seriously wounded but he insisted on remaining in the line and fired at the enemy at ranges sometimes as close as 5 yards until his ammunition ran out. Without ammunition, he resorted to hand to hand combat. Sgt. Baker was then carried about 50 yards to the rear by a comrade, who was then himself wounded.
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At this point Sgt. Baker refused to be moved any farther stating that he preferred to be left to die rather than risk the lives of any more of his friends. At his request, he was placed in a sitting position against a small tree and given a Colt 1911 with only 8 rounds of ammunition. When last seen alive, Sgt. Baker was propped against a tree, pistol in hand, calmly facing the foe. Days later, Sgt. Baker's body was found in the same position, gun empty, with 8 Japanese lying dead before him.
For his courage and sacrifice, Sgt. Baker was awarded the Medal of Honor. #ww2 #stayzero #coltworks #zerofoxtrot