Harold Eugene Baker

Gene was born August 25, 1925 in Ojai, California to Frank and Fay Baker. Gene served

honorably in the US Navy during WWII.

Gene will be laid to rest with military honors at Eagle Point National Cemetery on Thursday,

October 6, 2016 at 2pm. Gene has no family to attend his service. We would like to invite the

public to attend and show their support for this veteran.

Harold Eugene Baker

25 Aug 1925 – 22 Sep 2016

Mother: Fay Williams

In 1930 Harold was living with his mother and two uncles in his grandmother’s home in Ojai City, Ventura County, California.

• Harold Eugene Baker enlisted in the U.S. Navy on 15 March 1943 in Los Angeles, CA. Another record shows him enlisting on 19 March 1943, which is probably the day he left for boot camp.

• His Navy Service number is 565 13 58

• On 3 Jan 1944 PR3 Baker reported aboard USS WASP (CV-18) homeported in Boston, from Carrier Aircraft Service Unit 22 (CASU-22) in Quonset Point, Rhode Island.

• After a shakedown cruise to Hampton Roads and Trinidad, on 11 Mar 1944 PR3 Baker transferred from the USS WASP (CV-18) to RS, Boston for further assignment by COMAIRLANT. The WASP headed to the pacific theater.

• Promoted & transferred: According to the commissioning report, on 1 May 1944 PR2 Baker was transferred from SOSU-2 and reported aboard USS GUAM (CB-2), - a large cruiser – and was assigned to the Aviation Unit. The GUAM had 4 float planes and a catapult. There were 17 sailors assigned to the Aviation Unit.

• USS GUAM left Philadelphia on 17 January 1945, after completing her shakedown cruise off Trinidad. She proceeded through the Panama Canal to join the United States Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, which she reached on 8 February. While there, Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal visited the ship. On 3 March, she departed Hawaii for Ulithi, an atoll in the Caroline Islands, where she joined her sister ship USS ALASKA on 13 March. Shortly thereafter, GUAM and the rest of Task Force 58, the main strike force of the US Navy under the command of Admiral Arthur W. Radford, departed for a raid on the mainland Japanese islands of Kyushu and Shikoku. Task Force 58 arrived off Japan on the morning of 18 March and was quickly attacked by Japanese kamikazes and bombers. GUAM was detached from the unit to escort the badly damaged carrier USS Franklin back to port, which lasted until 22 March.

• GUAM then returned to Task Force 58, assigned to Cruiser Division 16, part of Task Group 58.4, and steamed to Okinawa. On the night of 27–28 March, GUAM and the rest of Cruiser Division 16 bombarded the airfield on Minamidaitō, an island southeast of Okinawa. After concluding the bombardment, GUAM returned to the carrier screen while they conducted operations off Nansei Shoto, a chain of islands between Taiwan and Japan until 11 May. The ship then steamed to Ulithi for periodic maintenance and to replenish ammunition and supplies. She then returned to Okinawa, assigned to Task Group 38.4 of William Halsey's Third Fleet. She continued to provide anti-aircraft defense for the carriers while they launched fighter sweeps of Kyushu. GUAM and ALASKA bombarded Oki Daitō for an hour and a half on 9 June, after which they steamed to San Pedro Bay in the Leyte Gulf in the Philippines, arriving on 13 June.

• After returning to Okinawa in July, GUAM was assigned to Cruiser Task Force 95, where she served as the flagship, along with her sister ALASKA, under the command of Rear Admiral Francis S. Low. On 16 July, GUAM and ALASKA conducted a sweep into the East China and Yellow Seas to sink Japanese shipping. They returned to the fleet on 23 July. They then joined a major raid, which included three battleships and three escort carriers, into the estuary of the Yangtze River off Shanghai, returning to Okinawa by 7 August.

• Shortly after returning to Okinawa, GUAM became the flagship of the North China Force, again commanded by Rear Admiral Low. The unit was tasked with showing the flag in the region, including the ports of Tsingtao, Port Arthur, and Dalian.

• On 03 Dec 1945 PR2 Baker transferred from USS GUAM to Naval Operations Base, Terminal Island, CA.

• On 24 Mar 1947 Petty Officer Baker was serving aboard USS LEO (AKA-60), an attack cargo ship, operating in the Pacific Ocean.

Awards received while serving aboard USS GUAM include:

• American Campaign Medal

• Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two battle stars

• World War II Victory Medal

• Navy Occupation Service Medal with ASIA clasp

• China Service Medal