Private Baxter was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He was seriously wounded by an enemy land torpedo in North Korea on 18 November 1951 and died of those wounds later that day.

Baxter was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.