`A long time coming' // 7 black WWII heroes get Medal of Honor

From: Chicago Sun-Times | Date: January 14, 1997| Author: SONYA ROSS | Copyright information

WASHINGTON Vernon Baker was standing in the White House with glistening eyes and a medal around his neck, but his mind was on the Italian mountainside where he earned his place in history 52 years ago.

Baker, 77, was reliving the April, 1945, fight in which he took out German gun posts and killed nine enemy soldiers with a gun and hand grenades. He thought of the other black men who fought beside him and died around him as they awaited reinforcements that never came.

"We've ...

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