Jump to content

Danger Close! A WW2 36th Div Air Liaison Officer Uniform Grouping


carbinephalen
 Share

Recommended Posts

carbinephalen

Lt Col Isaac M. B-A-K-E-R was born in 1913. In 1931, at the young age of 17, he enlisted in Co K, 1st Virginia Infantry, 29th Division. In 1938, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 176th Infantry, 29th Division. He stayed with this Regiment (now separated from the 29th) throughout 1941, 1942, 1943, and 1944 rising to the rank of Major. Biding his time stateside as a training Battalion Commander, he graduated Ground Liaison School in October of 1944 and was quickly shipped overseas to the 2689th Ground Liaison Detachment in the 5th Army. Upon completion of that assignment he was assigned to the HQ, 7th Army as the Air Liaison Officer.

As an ALO, B-A-K-E-R collected and evaluated information about adversary targets and would recommend targets for Close Air Support missions AND strategic bombing campaigns by the Army Air Force. This man's job is especially near and dear to me as I am doing the same job 75 years later in the USAF as a Targeting Officer. He would further the targeting process by controlling the actual fighter bomber's attack when laying munitions on to the target, establishing bomb safety/close support lines, and also collected/forwarded the strike information on to higher HQs. Furthermore, B-A-K-E-R would perform low angle photography from Liaison A/C and distribute the images to front line troops. This man performed cradle to grave targeting, weaponeering, and intelligence dissemination!

He would ultimately spend 14 months in the European Theater and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for sustained direct support of combat Ops. He would also be awarded 4x Campaign Stars on his EAME ribbon.

B-A-K-E-R separated from active duty in April of 1946 as a Lt Col. He then continued his service to this nation with the 2nd Bn, 80th (Airborne) Div, retiring in 1955

He organized a very successful mechanical contracting firm in Virginia and passed away in 1995 at the age of 82.

Thanks for looking!

 

IMG_5023.jpg

 

IMG_5025.JPG

 

IMG_5028.jpg

 

IMG_5027.JPG

 

IMG_5030.jpg

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nice, congrats.

 

One thing, this would be an error "2nd Bn, 80th (Airborne) Div" for one this unit went off jump status in like 1951-52, 2nd Bn would of course refer to a battalion of an infantry regiment, and any clarification there? It's interesting in one aspect, if he was in the 80th when it was an airborne division did he have to go to jump school to get in it, if not, was he a non jumper, and if so, just what would a non jump qualified officer do in an airborne infantry regiment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

carbinephalen

Patches,

 

You're not wrong at all Sir! He was with the 80th when they were Airborne and when they were a conventional Infantry Division later on. Please see below for a list of his assignments in the 80th. A photo is worth a 1000 words so I'll let it do the rest of the talking. ;)

 

IMG_20180130_0005.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Patches,

 

You're not wrong at all Sir! He was with the 80th when they were Airborne and when they were a conventional Infantry Division later on. Please see below for a list of his assignments in the 80th. A photo is worth a 1000 words so I'll let it do the rest of the talking. ;)

 

IMG_20180130_0005.jpg

Good deal, 2nd Battalion 318th Parachute Infantry, 80th Airborne Division, perhaps he attended jump school some time in early-sh 1948?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Man I wish we could find photos of these reserve airborne divisions, so far there's only one that's been posted, the one from the 84th Abn Div.

 

See post #266.

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/166035-uncommon-and-obscure-combat-patches-being-worn/page-11

 

And a good talk on them, particularly quotes from Patchhouse 10.

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/68066-80th-airborne-division/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

carbinephalen

I know! Two 36th boys in a month. Dont worry, Im not going to turn in to a closet collector and compete with ya! My heart is set on the 76th (except for when its a Targeting Officer! Haha)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

This is an amazing set! Really great story and awesome to see such a unique role from the 36th. Wonderful post and thanks for sharing

 

Alex

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...