Private First Class Reece Baker was born Sept. 13, 1921 to Hubert Otis and Stella Esther Rogers Baker in the Seymour area of Sevier County. He was the second of five children. Reece’s elder brother Beecher William Baker (1919-2019) also served in the Army during World War II.
Reece enlisted in the Army July 1942 in Fort Oglethorpe, GA. He was assigned Company I of the 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division. According to his brother Beecher, when the two young brothers met in New York City in 1943, Reece told Beecher that he did not expect to return home.
Reece took part in the landings of D-Day and the invasion of Normandy. He was fatally shot during the invasion and died June 17, 1944. His body was returned to his family on April 27, 1945 and he was buried in Zion Hill Cemetery in Sevier County.
Reece’s memorial page at the ETVMA may be found here: https://www.etvma.org/veterans/reece-h-baker-10507/
