WW2 Battle of the Bulge Fallen - Artilleryman Perry Baker, 106th Infantry Division

PFC Perry Baker served with the 589th Field Artillery Battalion that was part of the 106th Infantry Division.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18676632/perry-grey-baker
https://www.pinterest.com/gliderrider327/106th-id-images/ 

Perry Grey Baker never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

If you have enjoyed reading the stories of the WW2 fallen, Can you help write some stories? It's a big project. The more help, the better.  Announcing "The Stories Behind the Stars", see https://www.storiesbehindthestars.org. This crowd-sourced national project has the goal of compiling stories of all 400,000+ of the US World War 2 fallen in one free-to-access central database.  Anyone visiting a war memorial or gravesite will be able to scan the name of the fallen with a smartphone and his story will appear on the phone.

Perry was born on April 23, 1920 in Amarillo, Texas. His parents Harvey and Mary were also both born in Texas. His father worked as a clothing store salesman and later as an insurance agent. Still later he worked as a mail carrier. Perry had a younger brother and sister. By 1940 Perry had completed two years of schooling at Amarillo College and was working as a delivery man for Smyth Auto Supply. He still lived at home.

He volunteered for the army in October 1942. He became a private first class in the Service Company, 589th Field Artillery Battalion, 106th Infantry Division. It was equipped with 105mm howitzers. The 106th ID arrived in Europe in early December 1944. It was sent to the Ardennes Forest to relieve the 2nd Infantry Division on December 11, 1944. Five days later the unit was outnumbered and encircled by Germans advancing on the north end of their Battle of the Bulge offensive. As soon as December 17, the 589th FAB began losing guns as it was overrun by the enemy. Those men who avoided capture moved in the direction of St. Vith. 

By December 19, the 589th was down to three howitzers. The surrounded Americans came under heavy artillery fire that afternoon. PFC Baker was declared missing in action before his battalion surrendered. His status was later changed to killed in action.

PFC Baker lost a cousin during the war. Ensign James Everett, a torpedo bomber pilot, was declared missing in September 1944 and confirmed as killed in action on December 16, the day Perry first saw combat.

His grave is at Llano Cemetery in Amarillo, Texas.

Thank you PFC Baker for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Perry.

Last year on this date I profiled Saipan fallen Cleave Sinor, 27th Infantry Division. You can read about Cleave here.

On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!

I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.

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WW2 Fallen 100 is supported by

The Greatest GENERATIONS Foundation

“Where Every Day is Memorial Day”

http://www.tggf.org