In WWII, a black medic's help wasn't always wanted
The Allies stormed Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, and Army medic James E. Baker landed there the next day.
Germans fired from the hills and bodies were in the water. Wounded soldiers cried out for help, and Baker came across an Army lieutenant who had caught a bullet in the knee. But this officer wasn't happy to see a medic, at least not Baker, who recalls the officer's greeting.
Get your black hands off me.
Today, the retired psychiatrist who will soon turn 89 recalls the incident with a chuckle.
"I was willing to obey his order, but I had too much Sunday school in me. I told him, 'Something's wrong with one of us and it ain't me. I'm going to work on you whether you like it or not.'"
And that's what he did.
"He was cussing me all the time I was trying to wrap him up. I didn't lose any sleep over it. It wasn't the first time. I was born in Mississippi and you get used to it."
When Baker recalls his World War II service, some of his experiences are universal.
Like many, he volunteered for service and wore the uniform with pride. He gleefully recalls a 1942 game at Yankee Stadium when a foul ball went into the stands and fans insisted it be passed down to Baker, because they wanted " the Army guy to have it."
Like any soldier who participated in the D-Day invasion, he can recount the fear and nervousness, the realization "that this was the big one." Assigned to the 494th Port Battalion, his ship was damaged by a mine and slowly sunk before they reached the beach, requiring transfer to another craft....
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Germans fired from the hills and bodies were in the water. Wounded soldiers cried out for help, and Baker came across an Army lieutenant who had caught a bullet in the knee. But this officer wasn't happy to see a medic, at least not Baker, who recalls the officer's greeting.
Get your black hands off me.
Today, the retired psychiatrist who will soon turn 89 recalls the incident with a chuckle.
"I was willing to obey his order, but I had too much Sunday school in me. I told him, 'Something's wrong with one of us and it ain't me. I'm going to work on you whether you like it or not.'"
And that's what he did.
"He was cussing me all the time I was trying to wrap him up. I didn't lose any sleep over it. It wasn't the first time. I was born in Mississippi and you get used to it."
When Baker recalls his World War II service, some of his experiences are universal.
Like many, he volunteered for service and wore the uniform with pride. He gleefully recalls a 1942 game at Yankee Stadium when a foul ball went into the stands and fans insisted it be passed down to Baker, because they wanted " the Army guy to have it."
Like any soldier who participated in the D-Day invasion, he can recount the fear and nervousness, the realization "that this was the big one." Assigned to the 494th Port Battalion, his ship was damaged by a mine and slowly sunk before they reached the beach, requiring transfer to another craft....