We Remember Medal of Honor John Baca!

On this day in 1970, a soldier engages in an action that would earn him the Medal of Honor. Specialist Fourth Class John Baca must have seemed an unlikely hero? He’d once been a troubled teenager, even going to juvenile hall for petty crimes.

“The best thing was getting drafted,” he later said. “Because you know, I probably would have maybe spent a little time in jail.”

The Army saved Baca—and Baca returned the favor by saving several of his fellow soldiers.

Baca was drafted straight out of high school in 1969. By February 1970, he was in Vietnam serving with a heavy-weapons platoon. His company had been ordered out to set up an ambush, along with a rifle platoon. Our soldiers were helicoptered to their target at dusk and left to establish their position.

Part of their effort, of course, was to set up trip wires that would alert them to activity in the area.

Suddenly, something set off a trip wire. The scene that followed was chaotic, as explosions and other fire ripped through the area. Some of our soldiers left to investigate. Meanwhile, Baca worked to set up his firing station.

An assistant machine gunner ran past Baca, covered in blood. Baca’s recoilless rifle was knocked over as the machine gunner passed. Then Baca saw it: A grenade had landed close to his position.

“It’s like time stopped,” he later described. “And all these thoughts go through my mind. Do I pick it up and throw it? Do I stand on it? Do I run from it? What do I do? If my mom finds out, she’s going to really be upset.”

In the end, he decided to smother the grenade with his own body. He put his helmet under his stomach and fell on top of the grenade just before it exploded.

“My whole life flashed through me and my childhood,” he said. “It’s like my mom and my sisters were right in front of me. And the next moment I’m on my back, and I thought I was severed in half. . . . I saw my stomach coming out and it just didn’t look good. But I was peaceful. There was no pain. It was the most beautiful moment I ever had in my life. It was hands holding me, and it wasn’t somebody I could see. I could just sense a presence of God right then.”

Baca is credited with saving 8 of his fellow soldiers. And, unbelievably, he survived the experience—even though Baca wasn’t evacuated for nearly two hours after the grenade blast.

Since then, the once-troubled youth has become an inspiration for others. He’s helped veterans, and he’s even traveled back to Vietnam to help build a clinic. Yet the service that he’s offered to Gold Star families has perhaps been uniquely helpful.

“I tell them about those dying moments I had,” he explained. “How peaceful and gentle. I know there were angels, you can’t put it into words, but I know they were ready to bring me up into the heavens.”

Hmm. Who knows? Maybe Baca was saved, at least in part, so those Gold Star families would know that their loved ones are in good hands.

What do you think


THE DAY AFTER… BATTLE of MAGERSFONTEIN – the TRUCE for retrieving dead and wounded… ACCIDENTALLY BROKEN. And the WITHDRAWAL.

THE DAY AFTER… BATTLE of MAGERSFONTEIN – the TRUCE for retrieving dead and wounded… ACCIDENTALLY BROKEN. And the WITHDRAWAL.

This text from Steve Lunderstedt (KIMBERLEY CALLS…AND RECALLS): “On this day, the 12th December, in 1899, as the sun rose…

Read More


“Trench fighting is the bloodiest, wildest, most brutal of all…

“Trench fighting is the bloodiest, wildest, most brutal of all…

Of all the war’s exciting moments none is so powerful as the meeting of two storm troop leaders between narrow…

Read More


British Soldier Leonard Thompson experience during the Gallipoli campaign.

British Soldier Leonard Thompson experience during the Gallipoli campaign.

“We set to work to bury people. We pushed them into the sides of the trenches but bits of them…

Read More


What is Krampus ?

What is Krampus ?

The Feast of St. Nicholas is celebrated in parts of Europe on 6 December. On the preceding evening of 5…

Read More


A HEART WRENCHIG STORY

A HEART WRENCHIG STORY

Bronx mother accused of hanging her 6-year-old daughter in a closet and beating her before she died due to prolonged…

Read More


In 1976, Shavarsh Karapetyan, an Armenian Olympic Swimmer, had just completed a 12-mile run with his brother when they saw a trolley bus crash into a dam reservoir.

In 1976, Shavarsh Karapetyan, an Armenian Olympic Swimmer, had just completed a 12-mile run with his brother when they saw a trolley bus crash into a dam reservoir.

The trolley bus sank 80 feet offshore at a depth of 33 Feet. Shavarsh immediately dove in and swam to…

Read More


In 1867, deep within the dense forests of Uttar Pradesh, India, a hunting party stumbled upon an astonishing sight in a jungle cave:

In 1867, deep within the dense forests of Uttar Pradesh, India, a hunting party stumbled upon an astonishing sight in a jungle cave:

a young boy living among wolves, behaving more like a wild animal than a human. This child, later named Dina…

Read More


She got married at the age of 14, and at the age of 20, she became a single mother.

She got married at the age of 14, and at the age of 20, she became a single mother.

The first female millionaire who made a fortune with her 10 fingers.She entered the Guinness Book of Records as the…

Read More


Today we Remember Charlotte Salomon

Today we Remember Charlotte Salomon

On April 16, 1917, Charlotte Salomon was born in Berlin, Germany—a gifted artist whose life and legacy would become a…

Read More


The Woman Who Lived Across Three Centuries — Jeanne Calment

The Woman Who Lived Across Three Centuries — Jeanne Calment

She was born in 1875 — before the light bulb, the Eiffel Tower, or sliced bread.And she lived until 1997….

Read More

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *