In October 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis suddenly erupted. John Baker’s Military Intelligence detachment was issued secret orders to deploy to Florida and be prepared to take part in the invasion. John found himself as the key person having to provide support services for a secretly deployed group of 15 men with a mission of providing intelligence support to the Cuban invasion force.
His detachment was informed they would be parachuting into Cuba. This proved to be a significant concern as only two of the soldiers were jump qualified - resulting in some late-night training on how to make a parachute jump! Adding to the soldiers’ anxiety, they learned that the Cuban farmers had recently harvested the sugarcane fields in which they were to jump leaving the stalks cut with sharp points!
John Baker’s military and academic careers span over 40 years and include involvement in two of the nation’s most significant military and political events: the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War. John came to CMC rather than to Stanford for very practical reasons: his high school teacher recommended the school, and CMC gave him a larger scholarship! After graduation in 1958, he took a deferment from active duty to pursue a doctoral degree in political science from Princeton University. His military career began as a “butter-bar second lieutenant” after completing his graduate degree.
John was slated to be assigned as a Military Intelligence Officer. However, when he entered active duty in 1960, the Army did not have an MI branch so John was assigned to the Transportation Corps until 1962 when the MI branch was formally recognized. Important tasks lay ahead for him in the MI, finance, and computer science fields.
His first duty station was Ft. Benning, Georgia, where he underwent the Infantry Officer Basic Course and then on to Ft. Holabird, Maryland, where he progressed through basic MI training. John’s next posting was to Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, home of the famous 82d Airborne Division. John said “The Army loves to move you around and here I was with about a year into my service and had already moved three times!” At Ft. Bragg, he was assigned to the 519 Military Intelligence Battalion with the job of being “a jack of all trades” as he describes it. “It was great experience for a young officer,” John admits, “and I learned a lot about staying in sync with senior officers and higher headquarters.”
Cuban Missile Crisis Erupts
In October 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis suddenly erupted and John’s detachment was issued secret orders to deploy to Florida and be prepared to take part in the invasion. However, the unit had to move without letting anyone know – inside or outside of the post. John found himself as the key person having to provide support services for the deployed group of 15 men. He had to ensure that no one knew they had left the post without informing anyone within the military or civilian world where they were going. His unit’s mission was to provide intelligence support to the invasion force on the ground once it had landed in Cuba.
His detachment was informed that they would be parachuting into Cuba. This proved to be a significant problem as only two of the soldiers were jump qualified. This resulted in some rapid late-night training on how to make a parachute jump. Adding to the soldiers’ anxiety, they learned that the Cuban farmers had just recently harvested the sugarcane fields in which they were to jump leaving the stalks cut with sharp points!
John points out that while he enjoyed the preparations for battle from his comfortable office back at Ft. Bragg, he did experience a little bit of “cloak and dagger” activity. While John confirms “there was no excitement for me,” his job required that he ensure things like the men's payroll records, orders, and vehicles followed the men to Florida, all the while keeping these activities a secret. This involved several “midnight requisitions” of documents and records.
Fortunately, the unit returned to Ft. Bragg after the crisis was averted, sighing heavily that they did not have to jump onto foreign soil. The rest of John’s time on active duty was spent with the 519th at Ft. Bragg, mostly training and maintenance of vehicles. “We were equipment heavy,” said John, “and our men spent a lot of time keeping our trucks running and ready for action.”
CMC and Southen Illinois University
After being released from active duty, John returned to CMC to teach Political Science. He also joined the 63 Infantry Division as a reserve officer and was assigned as the Assistant Intelligence Officer, or S2. He taught the American Government course at CMC for three years and served as the Executive Secretary of the Institute for Studies in Federalism under President George C. S. Benson.
From sunny California, John found himself in a job as an Assistant Professor of Political Sciences at Southern Illinois University. He also served in a variety of administrative positions dealing with university curriculum, data processing, management information systems, and budgeting.
Evaluating Vietnam War Intelligence
John continued his reserve service and spent active reserve time each year as a Mobilization Designee traveling back and forth to the Pentagon where he became involved in evaluating intelligence. He discovered there were vast amounts of intelligence data that existed prior to the end of the Vietnam War that confirmed that Vietnam was a not a good place for America to be. He learned that decisions were being made based on prejudice and politics rather than on solid and accurate intelligence about the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong. While intelligence reports went up the chain of command their advice was completely ignored.
John continued to serve as a reserve officer from 1966 to 1981 and profited from attending several of the Army’s best courses: The Army War College and the Command and General Staff College. He completed his reserve duty as a full colonel, having served for 30 years. He also completed his role at Southern Illinois University and retired in 2000.
Life Lessons Learned
Looking back on both his academic and military service, John recognizes two life lessons learned that guided and helped him to be successful:
- He learned how understanding good data and information was critical to making good decisions.
- He witnessed the results of bad intelligence and bad decision making and how it impacted men’s lives and global decisions.
John and his wife, Dorothy, have been married for 68 years and have recently moved to Hudson, Wisconsin to be close to family. John put aside his military pay that has allowed the pair to travel the world in retirement. He particularly enjoys meeting other military retirees including an admiral to whom he explained how to borrow money to build aircraft carriers.