John W. Baker was born on July 27, 1916, in Union County, Iowa. He was the son of Wilbur H Autenreith and Lois Z Autenreith. He was married to Alta Vivian Radebaugh Autenreith.

John resided in Union County, Iowa, prior to the war. He enlisted in the Army on May 13, 1942, at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a Manager and also as Married.

At the time of his death, he was a Radio Operator on the B-17G #42-32087. On July 5, 1945, his aircraft was on the way back to the United States with its crew and some passengers near the war's ending from Europe. Typically when a B-17 was returning to the United States, when no longer needed for the war effort, they took members of their ground crew back with them. That is possibly what was happening on this flight.

They had just stopped at the Azores for refueling, and shortly after takeoff, the plane caught fire. The last radio contact reported that the #3 engine had cut out, and, after trying to return, the airplane was losing altitude. The B-17 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.

Sgt Baker was declared "Missing in Action" on this flight. His name is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing, Brittany American Cemetery, Montjoie Saint Martin, France.

Airmen who perished on B-17G 42-32087 on 5 July 1945:
Autenreith, Herbert D ~ S/Sgt, Passenger, IA
Baker, John W ~ Sgt, Radio Operator, NJ
Bonczar, Frank A ~ Pvt, Passenger, NY
Brubaker, Robert B ~ 1st Lt, Bombardier, CA
Digman, Harold H ~ S/Sgt, Gunner, OR
Granholm, Harold F ~ Sgt, Passenger, NY
Green, James W ~ Corp, Passenger, MS
Guest, Joseph P ~ T/Sgt, Passenger, PA
Janney, Leonard H ~ S/Sgt, Passenger, IL
Michalowski, Edward J ~ S/Sgt, Passenger, NY
Pentney, John L ~ 2nd Lt, Navigator, OR
Radzevich, Benny J ~ 1st Lt, Pilot, NY
Starr, James R ~ Sgt, Gunner, MA
Taylor, Charles A, Jr ~ Sgt, Passenger, MS
Zellers, Kenneth E ~ M/Sgt, Passenger, PA

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.americanairmuseum.com, www.abmc.gov