Congress Endorses Retroactive Pay For War Hero Baker Whether Stipend Will Survive Veto Is The $64,000 Question
War hero Vernon Baker moved a step closer to back pay for the Medal of Honor he should have received in 1945.
Baker’s stipend of about $64,000 is included in the defense authorization bill that was passed 90-10 on Thursday by the U.S. Senate.
However, President Clinton is threatening to veto the bill because of a dispute over other provisions of how defense dollars are spent.
If that happens, it may take Congress until after the first of the year to deal with a veto, and for Baker to get his money.
U.S. Sen. Dirk Kempthorne is championing the issue. Last spring, he introduced legislation to give Baker and the families of two other black World War II Medal of Honor recipients the stipends they would have received had they received the nation’s highest distinction for battlefield valor at the time of their heroic deeds.
“This bill includes a very important provision to correct a mistake made over 50 years ago,” Kempthorne said on the Senate floor Thursday. “Vernon Baker has never asked for the retroactive payment nor has he ever sought my assistance.
“But believe me, his act of bravery in April 1945 makes him more than worthy and he deserves to have this wrong corrected,” Kempthorne said.
Baker, of St. Maries, says he is overwhelmed. “The only thing I can say is thanks,” Baker said.
What will he do if the money finally comes through? “Pay bills and have a vacation,” he said.
A platoon leader with the 92nd Infantry Buffalo Division, Baker was dispatched to Italy in 1944 with the first black troops to go to combat for the United States during World War II. He suffered from racism at the hands of southern white comma ders, who made sure no black soldier was bestowed with the Medal of Honor.
Baker received the Distinguished Service Cross - the nation’s second highest battlefield distinction - for his courageous acts on April 5, 1945, during the last big push against the Germans in Italy.
An Army study, commissioned a few years ago, determined Baker and six other black men should have received the Medal of Honor. Baker is the only one still alive.
In January, Clinton presented the Medal of Honor to Baker and the families of the six other men.
Kempthorne’s legislation also authorizes stipends for the families of Edward A. Carter and Charles L. Thomas, both of whom survived World War II, therefore making them eligible for back pay.
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