John H. Baird Korean War Collection

Left: John H. Baird standing outside of tent, unidentified location, Korea, ca. 1951. Location: Box 4, Item 41.

Born: September 10, 1922, in New York, New York
Korean War Service: 19th Regiment, 21st Infantry Division, U.S. Army, 1950-1951

John Herman “Jack” Baird, Jr. was born in New York in 1922. He served in
World War II for three years stationed on an island off the coast of Panama. Baird remained in the Inactive Reserves after returning to the states and completed law school at the University of Mississippi on the G.I. Bill in January of 1950. Recalled to active duty on September 22, 1950, Baird served in the Korean War for one year and two months beginning in September of 1950 with the 19th Regiment of the 21st Infantry Division. After the war, Baird settled in Little Rock, Arkansas. He currently lives in San Rafael, California.

The Baird Collection contains biographical images, military documents, correspondence, and newspaper clippings related to the Korean War, including copies of Baird’s Medical Clearance Certificate from October 18, 1951 and his Camera Pass for Pearl Harbor Naval Reservation from November 7, 1951. In addition to the documents, the Baird Collection contains 217 photographs.

John Baird has not yet been interviewed for this project, but we hope an oral history interview will be conducted in the future.

View the complete finding aid to KWP-6 John H. Baird Korean War Collection here.
See the selection of Baird’s photographs available online here and documents available online here.

Unidentified soldier sleeping on stack of shell casings, unidentified location, Korea, ca. 1951. Location: Box 3, Item 24.

Unidentified soldier carrying wounded soldier on stretcher, M4 Sherman tank on slightly elevated road, unidentified location, Korea, ca. 1951. Location: Box 2, Item 67.

Contributed by Stephanie Bayless, Manuscripts Department.