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| USN USS Lexington (CV-16) VF-20  USN 1944 |
Pilot Lt(jg) Douglas Baker, 0-300883 (MIA / KIA, BR) OK Crashed December 14, 1944 Aircraft History Built by Grumman as model G-50 in Bethpage, New York. Delivered to the U.S. Navy (USN) as F6F-5 Hellcat Bureau Number 71800. Wartime History Assigned to USS Lexington (CV-16) to Fighting Squadron 20 (VF-20). No known nickname or nose art. Mission History On December 14, 1944 in the afternoon launched from USS Lexington (CV-16) piloted by Lt(jg) Douglas Baker on a strike mission against Clark Field on Luzon in the Philippines. At about 8:00am, hit by anti-aircraft fire over Clark Field No. 2 and crashed at Mapano (O'Donnell) near Capas. When this plane failed to return, it was officially listed as Missing In Action (MIA). Recovery of Remains On the ground, Filipinos including Tito Rivera witness the crash and afterwards rushed to the plane wreck and found the pilot's body and the same day buried him in Mapano. Later, a USAFFE guerrilla officer found the pilots' dog tags and identified the body as Douglas Baker. Postwar, the burial was found and the remains recovered. On January 18, 1946 the remains were buried at Santa Barbara Cemetery. Later, exhumed and shipped back to the United States. Memorials Baker was officially declared dead the day of the mission. On February 16, 1949 his remains arrived at the L. B. Brown Funeral Home then is buried at Green Hill Cemetery in Lindsey, OK at section 2, row 5. Relatives John E. Baker (father) References Note, his name at birth was Douglas Ishmeal/Ishmiel Baker. The different spellings are used in various papers in the file. He dropped the middle name and initial soon after enlisting in the Navy Navy Serial Number Search Results - F6F-5 Hellcat 71800 USN Loss List Summary Sheet - F6F Hellcat 71800 NARA VF-20 War History pages 25-26 (Page 25-26) "The 3 days of strikes on the Clark Field area in December were perhaps the most trying ever experienced by our pilots up to that time. Anti-aircraft batteries of all sizes had been greatly strengthened since the previous strikes and were finding their marks with far greater accuracy. Six fighters were shot down by AA fire on the 14th although 2 of the pilots parachuted safely and were rescued by guerrilla forces. Several other planes were hit but managed to land aboard safely." NARA Aircraft Action Report (ACA) VF-20 No. 129 December 14, 1944 "About 0800, [F6F] 71800, pilot Baker, s/d over Clark Field #2, KIA" FindAGrave - LTJG Douglas Baker (photos, grave photo) Contribute Information Are you a relative or associated with any person mentioned? Do you have photos or additional information to add? Last Updated November 19, 2024 |
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