Moody-trained Airman returns to be honored 62 years after service

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Parker Gyokeres
  • 23rd Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  Sixty-five years after graduating from advanced pilot training at Moody Field, an Airman has returned to Moody Air Force Base as a hero to receive overdue recognition for his wartime service.

Capt. Henry Baker was presented with the Distinguished Flying Cross by Lt. Gen. Gary North, 9th Air Force commander, at a ceremony here Jan. 7, for his service as a C-46 Commando transport pilot in the hazardous China-Burma-Indian theater of operations.

From Dec. 30, 1944 to Feb. 6, 1945, then First Lt. Henry Baker, a flying safety officer with the 1343rd Army Air Force Base Unit, accumulated over 300 hours of combat time flying gasoline, ammunition and needed parts--resupplying the Flying Tigers and the Chinese Government of Chiang Kai-shek.

"We are here to honor you; a hero whose deeds have enabled our Air Force to be here today," said General North. "We look at the history and the legacy of thousands of Airmen such as you who braved dangerous conditions to take deliveries and supplies across the toughest location on our planet.

"Today, we are proud to be able to go back in history and honor you with this long overdue and justly-earned recognition in the presence of your family," he added. "All of us here want to say thank you from an Air Force that respects, honors and appreciates the heritage you have provided."

His missions repeatedly took him from India to China through the treacherous passage over the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains known as the 'hump,' where violent turbulence and terrible weather was the norm.

During the ceremony, Mr. Baker spoke clearly and with a perfect memory of the hazards he and other pilots faced in the CBI theater.

"Our biggest problem was the weather," said Mr. Baker, currently of Savannah, Ga. "We had 20 C-46s in the squadron and in the nine months I was there we lost and replaced all 20 original airplanes. Only two of those were lost due to enemy fire. The rest were due to the dangers we faced just flying in the mountains."

"The 150-170 mile-an-hour winds from Siberia could blow you off course and updrafts from the mountains would hurl the plane up or down a thousand feet instantly without warning," he said. "If you weren't strapped in, you could have your head smashed into the cabin roof."

The majority of his flying was during periods of darkness and bad weather using only basic instruments. Navigation aids in that era were rudimentary at best, said Mr. Baker.

"Our only navigation instruments were an airspeed indicator, altimeter, artificial horizon and a radio compass," he said. "On most missions we would fly until the radio compass swung around, and then begin descending a little bit at a time, hoping the clouds would break open before we did when we hit the ground. I would guess 75 percent of my landings were on instruments until the last couple of hundred feet.

"The primary cargo load was 65 55-gallon drums of 100 octane aircraft gasoline," he added. "As you can imagine, it wasn't the safest cargo to be carrying, especially if you smashed into a rock pile and made some sparks."

Despite the risks, Mr. Baker feels he was better trained than the Japanese they were fighting.

"If we were flying and saw the enemy, we would just climb or dive into the clouds," he said. "They really didn't like flying inside the bad weather, but we spent probably 90 percent of our lives not being able to see out of our windows. When they did occasionally shoot at us, they couldn't do that very well either."

The Air Force awarded the DFC to Mr. Baker on Oct. 25, 2007 after he submitted a petition to the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records and a review board granted his request.

"I'm just overwhelmed at the opportunity to come back to Moody for this honor," he said. "I'm just floating right now. It's been a rejuvenation for me and my family. I'm glad I am still healthy enough to truly experience it."