Corporal Baker was a member of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 5th Infantry Regimental Combat Team. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy near Kumji-ri, North Korea on 4 April 1951.

For his leadership and valor, Corporal Baker was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Korean War Service Medal.