Ltc Charles W. Baker (Ret)
October 11, 1940 — June 22, 2016
LTC Charles W. Baker (Ret), a resident of Laurel, died on June 22, 2016 at Charlotte Hall Veterans Home. He was 75. He was a longtime Maryland Army National Guard officer, aviator and National Security Agency analyst and historian.
Born in Union Springs, Al on October 11, 1940 and raised in Ocala, Fl, he graduated from Ocala High School in 1958. He earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Auburn University in 1962, as well as a commission as an Army Lieutenant, Armor Branch. After a tour of ground duty with the cavalry in California, LT Baker attended flight school at Fort Rucker, Al and became an Army aviator in July 1964. He then served on active duty in Korea, Germany, and Vietnam. In 1969 he attended graduate school at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he earned an MA in history in 1972..
After additional aviation training at Ft. Rucker and active duty he moved to Maryland to join NSA. Having served in the NC National Guard, he transferred to the Maryland National Guard in 1973, where he served until his retirement in 1987. The high point of his National Guard experience was serving from 1985 to 1987 as the first commander of 1st squadron, 158th Cavalry, which was the reconnaissance unit of the reactivated 29th Infantry Division (Blue and Gray). He retired as a Lt. Col. In December 1987. His decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star Medal w/1st OLC, Meritorious Service Medal, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry and various state and service awards. His last two years at NSA were as the Agency’s oral historian, an assignment in which he recorded the memories of some World War II codebreakers. He retired from the Agency at the end of 1994.
LTC Baker (Ret) is survived by his beloved wife of 33 years Katherine Phillips Baker; loving children Charles Bradford Baker (Claudine), William Donald Baker, Kathleen Mary Condry (Gregory), and Peter Eugene O’Neil; cherished grandchildren Kimberly Westberg, Ryan and Trevor Cross, Noah, Annabelle, and Leilani Baker. He is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents William and Ann Baker and his sister Dr. Joyce B. Rogers.