Nam POW shares heroic story with D-M

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Tim Beckham
  • 355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Six long, lonely and painful years with nothing to look forward to but daily beatings, hunger and a glimmer of hope that one day you may find your way back home.

That's the tale for one Vietnam vet, retired Col. Elmo "Mo" Baker who told his heroic story of bravery and survival to Team D-M April 25 at the base theater.

On Aug. 23 1967, the Vietnam War was near its peak. That's when then-Major Baker, on his 61st mission, was leading a roll-in for 18 F-105's over Takhli when danger struck.

"We were flying over Bag Giang, ten kilometers north of Hanoi when I was struck twice by 37/57 MM Anti-Aircraft fire and my plane caught on fire. I lost the hydraulics and ejected at 4,500 feet," Colonel Baker says in his bio.

Colonel Baker said he had no chance for escape--not only did the violent ejection snap his left femur, but the enemy was watching him float down to Earth waiting for him to land.

"I could hear them yelling and within seconds of my landing they surrounded me beat me and took me to (their) base camp," he said.

Once there, the real horror began for Colonel Baker. He was greeted with more beatings by a mob of angry Vietnamese before being taken to Hoa Lo Prison, which he would ultimately call home for the next six years.

"That became the game: Twist, scream, cheer. Twist, scream, cheer, until they took me across the tarmac. I was glad to get in the guards' hands because the mob was unpredictable," he said.

While inside the prison camp walls, Colonel Baker said he was often tortured and beaten for trying to communicate with other prisoners. Prisoners like now-Presidential hopeful, Sen. John McCain.

"We would do anything to communicate with one another--we even had our own form of code," he said.

As the end of the war drew near, North Vietnam and the U.S. held a prisoner exchange--Colonel Baker and the others were going home. Finally boarding a C-141 in March of 1973, Colonel Baker returned to Texas and, like many of his comrades, faced a looming divorce.
Colonel Baker officially retired from the Air Force in 1978, just five years after his return. He and his wife, Honey, who were married in 1974, merged their two families and now have seven grandchildren and reside in Texas.

Colonel Baker was awarded several decorations, to including, the Silver Star (three oak leaf clusters), the Bronze Star with device, the Distinguished Flying Cross (three oak leaf clusters), the Air Medal (10 oak leaf clusters), the Purple Heart and the Legion of Merit.

Although times have changed, the consequences of war haven't.

Capt. Andy Wood, 354th Fighter Squadron pilot, said even though the way wars are fought are a little different now the same risks are involved and he was proud to be a part of the same Air Force family.

"It's just an honor to be a part of the same heritage and tradition," he said.