Ruston Lee Baker

The database page for Ruston Lee Baker

06 Dec 2003 Ruston Lee Baker, we all called him "Rusty", was our Hometown Football Hero, handsome, and your typical small town boy who loved to kick up his heels. I am probably not the right person to be filling this out but I was proud of him, him giving the ultimate sacrifice for us, and I didn't want anyone to forget him or the thousands of troops like him. Semper Fi

A Note from The Virtual Wall The 1st Bn, 13th Marines had an artillery firing position located on the Cao Dei peninsula, a thumb of land which protrudes into Cau Hai Bay about 4 kilometers northwest of Phu Loc. Just before 2 am on 18 August 1968 the firing position was taken under attack, first by mortars and then by sappers who penetrated the perimeter and caused considerable damage with satchel charges before the Marines ejjected them and restored the perimeter. Two platoons from Alpha 1/26 had been sent from their respective positions as reaction forces - and by chance intercepted the enemy force as they withdrew from the peninsula. In a night engagement, the Alpha 1/26 Marines took the VC under fire before the enemy force broke contact and disappeared into the nearby mountains. Seventeen Marines were killed in the two enaggements: Hq Btry, 1st Bn, 11th Marines Pfc Kenneth M. Baldwin, Grafton, IA Hq Btry, 1st Fld Arty Group, 11th Marines Pfc Norman L. Eversgerd, Germantown, IL Mortar Btry, 1st Bn, 13th Marines Sgt Robert Arnold, Tampa, FL LCpl Daniel Cardenas, Fullerton, CA LCpl Sherman L. Walters, Philadelphia, PA Pfc Charles T. Belasco, New York, NY Pfc John C. Bieneman, Wheeling, IL Pfc Robert A. McAllister, Tinley Park, IL (Silver Star) Pfc Lewis W. Page, Carmi, IL A Co, 1st Bn, 26th Marines Cpl Thomas A. Leigh, Flushing, NY LCpl Ruston L. Baker, Mendon, MI LCpl James Caudill, Marion, OH LCpl John Saneda, Bryan, OH LCpl David M. St John, Milford, MA Pfc Richard E. Addison, New York, NY Pfc Philip A. D'Amico, Philadelphia, PA Pfc Paul Velez, New York, NY

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With all respect
Jim Schueckler, former CW2, US Army
Ken Davis, Commander, United States Navy (Ret)
Memorial first published on 7 Dec 2003
Last updated 09/15/2007