Ocala veteran recalls World War II

Local veteran recalls World War II
Ocala Star Banner
By Andy Fillmore
Correspondent
Published: Saturday, November 2, 2013

While Ray Baker moved from England across France in the days following D-Day on June 6, 1944, his family back home thought he was lost in action.

"Our barracks were bombed and we had a good number of casualties. My family heard of the attack and thought I was put down. I couldn't contact them," said Baker, who lives with his wife, Jean, in western Marion County.

Although injured and hospitalized with a perforated ear drum, for which he received his first Purple Heart, Baker survived the bombing and rejoined the Allied drive across Europe two days after D-Day.

Baker was injured again while driving a weapons carrier near the front lines in France. The vehicle hit a land mine and threw him over the open top. He lost many of his front upper teeth. He received a second Purple Heart for those injuries.

Baker's son, Steve Dixon, 64, said the account of that explosion was the only episode "dad ever told me about the war."

Dixon himself received the Purple Heart Award during the Vietnam War.
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