Captain Baxter was the pilot of a AT-6D Mosquito observation aircraft with the 6148th Tactical Air Control Squadron, 6147th Tactical Air Control Group. On 14 November 1951, while flying an air-ground control mission, his aircraft was shot down by enemy machine gun fire. He was listed as Missing in Action and was presumed dead on 31 December 1953. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Baxter was awarded the Air Medal, the Purple Heart, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.