When I was in high school they had this for football games. It's welded in the travel postion, but was semi operational. Someone had turned a steel cylinder the fit in the chamber. The cylinder was bored through one end the accommodate a 12 gauge shotgun shell the other a bit larger for a blackpowder charge. I always suspected the breach had been welded and someone cut the welds. It turned up when high school football stadium was demolished. The Army told them they could keep it, but the tube had to be filled with cement. The local museum wanted it, but the superintendent wanted to keep it. The chairman of the museum board is retired principal and he couldn't even find out where it had been for 20 plus years. Apparently their Operational Security is quite good.😁

I remember being a passenger on several Huey flights where I would sit there and marvel at the fact I was on a helicopter, wearing the Armys clothes carrying the Armys gear and weapon and being paid to do it! There is no where else I can think of where you can do things that the vast majority of people never get to do in their entire lives, and get paid to do it! I personally will never be able to shake the experience. I was never sent to combat, never got hurt seriously while training and I had a lot of fun. I learned a lot about people and about myself. Being in there was a gift. Nothing prepared me for it. No body I talked to, movies TV books... advice etc etc.... nothing was like I thought it was going to be..... The only way to really know is to join up. I had not realized that the military is a whole separate society un to itself. And I had no idea I was going to be just a number. Just another body. NBC training... eye opener.... lol It was sobering to say the least. If you are thinking about joining, start doing pushups and running. You have to be in good shape just to wear the gear. the body armor etc etc.  Hopefully some other vets will weigh in with their experiences... and we can get back on the topic... Thank you.    

I appreciate your honesty. You probably are right in the sense that I’ve been misguided in my sense of the subject, but again, that’s why I’m here asking questions about it. I apologize if I came off in bad way regarding my experience with family members and there post military life. That has been my experience so far and that’s why I came here to ask about the good experiences from other veterans because I know there’s plenty of benefits from the service. I really did not mean to be insulting. As it has been said by other members including yourself it’s a personal decision, I am someone who thinks things through thoroughly and I want to have all the information at hand before I make that choice. And that’s why I came here because I know there are plenty of vets such as yourself who would be willing to assist. Thank you for the response from everyone.

Thank you for your reply and for bringing up a good point.   You are right that there are nine Howard Bakers without a middle name in the NARA WWII enlistment database. However, only one of them is from Alabama, and the others are not from any neighboring states. Given that this medal surfaced at a vintage store located in the same town as his listed birthplace, and very close to where he lived after the war, I feel Occam's Razor suggests this Alabama veteran is the most likely match.   That being said, I completely agree that this is not definitive proof. I am presenting my findings based on the strongest available evidence, but I fully acknowledge there is always a possibility of coincidence.

Great!

I'm just going to say it... it sounds like you've bought into every cliche and negative stereotype in the book. This is bothersome considering you have 700+ posts on this community full of veteran stories and veteran members who have proven otherwise. We're not all broken, PTSD-wrecked, VA-abused individuals. There's a lot of sour grapes among veterans who did not get the career they dreamed of, or who feel entitled to milk the taxpayers for as much as possible just because they rode a desk for Uncle Sam for a few years.   There are absolutely benefits that are not easily obtained elsewhere...college debt is a very real, very significant problem in this country, and the military takes this concern off your plate - both with the Montgomery GI Bill after service, and full tuition if you attend while you're serving - this tuition assistance can over one degree at each level does not count against your GI Bill...meaning, if you plan accordingly, you can easily walk away with a doctorate completely paid for. And, you don't have to attend any service academies to accomplish this.   Rent, food, and full medical/dental/optical coverage at 18 years old is something few dare dream of. You get all of this, on top of free technical training, and it all comes with a paycheck. Since your room and food are all covered, that's all money in your pocket. You can do what most 18 year olds do and p*ss it away guilt-free on booze and pizza, since you have no expenses outside of a phone bill, or you could start building a nest egg or investing it at a young age.   As others have said, the military will give you opportunities you would have to pay for elsewhere, and many cannot be bought. I have snowshoed under the aurora borealis in Norway, swam in the Dead Sea of Israel, trekked the Mojave Desert, helped give an entire generation of Afghan women an education, given Saddam Hussein the :) in person and celebrated his death in the streets with the Iraqi people who were grateful to be free of his tyranny, and personally influenced and helped turn 17,000 entry level men and women into United States Marines.   We can't offer you anything the other branches don't also have, other than the opportunity to be a United States Marine. I will say that if you are doubtful of wanting to serve, then maybe the Marine Corps is not the place for you. Which is fine, as the other services also offer aviation opportunities. Deciding whether or not to join is a deeply personal decision made for deeply personal reasons, so I will not stand here and tell you that you should or should not join the military. However, Also, there are plenty of ways to serve outside of the military, and I will say that you absolutely find a way to serve even if it is outside of the military.

Oh Thank You! I'll be in touch.

Of the all star cast, my favorite is Winston. Baylan likes him too…

Awesome, I may also be interested in some of the other things you have to offer.   Thanks.

There are a lot of Howard Baker's. I would not consider circumstantial evidence as definitive proof that would set a dangerous precedent.