Wilson Kirby Baker Jr
MilitaryPhoto archived by Char Baldridge, Historian, 359th Fighter Group Association.
Posted by Janet Fogg, 359th Fighter Group Historian.
Assigned to 496FTG, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 370FS, 359FG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) bomber escort to Anklan, Germany. Escorted Capt Lancaster to Sweden, on return shot down Do17 and low on fuel returned to land in Sweden. Interned (INT)
4-Aug-44. MACR 7432. RTD, ETD.
Awards: DFC, AM (4OLC), WWII Victory, EAME.
Post war: Remained in USAF, killed in service when F-86 Sabre 52-5065 went missing from Hill AFB Utah.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Unit: 359th Fighter Group 370th Fighter Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Harbert, TN | 23 September 1924 | Son of Wilson Kirby Sr and Grace M Baker. |
Enlisted |
Forest Camp Rd, Spring City, TN 37381, USA | 17 October 1942 | Camp Forrest, Tennessee |
Other Transferred |
Wretham, Thetford IP24, UK | 5 February 1944 - 30 November 1944 | Transferred to 370FS, 359FG, 8AF USAAF. |
Other Interned (INT) |
Sweden | 4 August 1944 | Failed to Return (FTR) bomber escort to Anklan, Germany. Escorted Capt Lancaster to Sweden, on return shot down Do17 and low on fuel returned to land in Sweden. Interned (INT) 4-Aug-44. MACR 7432. |
Other Promoted |
Wretham, Thetford IP24, UK | 4 August 1944 | Promoted to 1st Lieutenant. |
Other End Tour of Duty (ETD) |
England, UK | 30 November 1944 | |
Died |
Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA | 13 January 1956 | Killed in service when F-86 Sabre 52-5065 went missing from Hill AFB Utah. Low on fuel with an aborted landing, did not declare emergency, assumed to have crashed into the Great Salt Lake. |
Based Promoted |
Goxhill | Assigned to 496FTG, 8AF USAAF. | |
Atlanta, GA, USA | |||
Buried |
Marietta National Cemetery Marietta Cobb County GA | Memorialised Marietta National Cemetery Marietta Cobb County Georgia, USA |
Revisions
Merged with duplicate entries to include details from:
- MACR 7432;
- Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database;
- the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia