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Editorial: Norman Baker a ‘History Giant’

by Adrian O’Connor in the Winchester Star,  Aug 28, 2019

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Every community, group, or organization — if it is to sustain itself — needs leadership. No mystery there. But it also needs a spirit, a guiding light.

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The local French & Indian War Foundation has been so blessed myriad times — Linda Quynn Ross, elegant organizer, and Carl Ekberg, fiery historian, come immediately to mind.

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Still, if you were to ask anyone within or associated with the foundation, who the group’s Polaris happened to be, the answer would, in so many cases, we believe, be Norman Baker.

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Mr. Baker, who died Saturday night at the grand old age of 93, was indefatigable in his enthusiasm for early American history, particularly (of course) the French & Indian War period. For example, in his vintage, he navigated and walked the entire length of Braddock’s Road, from Alexandria to the ill-fated banks of the Monongahela. His passion for Fort Loudoun and Washington’s well was of a like sort.

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Even high into his eighties, Mr. Baker remained every inch the Marine who fought on Iwo Jima. To see him tangle with Dr. Ekberg from the foundation stage on some aspect of the war that brought them together was a sight to behold — and to enjoy.

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Now Dr. Ekberg will be obliged to joust alone. But the man whom Ms. Ross called her “History Giant” will not be far from the professor’s mind. Or from that of anyone else for whom the French & Indian War is a worthy topic of study and spirited discussion.

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Norman Baker Obituary

Winchester Star published 8/30/2019

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Norman L. Baker, war hero, scientist, publisher and historian passed away at the age of 93 on Sunday, August 25, 2019. He embodied the true American spirit with an unfaltering dedication to his country, his family and the preservation of our nation’s history.

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Baker, a 60-year resident of Fauquier County, Virginia lived a long and fulfilling life both professionally and personally. He was born in Reyno, Arkansas in 1926, a child of the Great Depression, learning early the value of hard work and perseverance. He served our country with both bravery and distinction in two major wars.

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Norman received his BS degree as an aerospace engineer at the Indiana Institute of Technology, was a member of the White House Press Corps, and was a noted historian of the American Colonial Period. Most importantly, he was a devoted family man who cherished spending time with those he loved at his home, Summerset in Virginia.

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TWO WARS

Entering the military at age 17, Norman fought courageously and heroically as a Fourth Marine Division soldier in the Pacific Theatre including the battle of Iwo Jima. He later served two tours, often on the front lines in the Korean War. Norman served as past President of the Fourth Marine Division Association.

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EXPLORING OUTER SPACE

Following his graduation from the Indiana Institute of Technology, where he received the Order of the Silver Slide Rule Award, Norman joined Boeing as a Development Engineer on the Bomarc Missile Program. He was credited for having initially proposed the development of a Space Shuttle vehicle in October 1955. Later he was asked to move to Washington, D.C. to be editor of Missiles and Rockets magazine. While in DC, he founded Space Publications, a publishing company covering the defense and aerospace industry through newsletters, such as the Defense Daily and Soviet Aerospace. Norman was also a founder and president of the National Space Club, which began in 1957 to recognize American leaders in the space program. He established the annual Astronautics Engineer Award in 1958, which seeks to recognize the nation’s most outstanding space engineers.

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Norman was an esteemed member of the White House Press Corps where he served as a White House correspondent for six administrations; He also served as a Senate and House Press Gallery correspondent, and was Dean of the Pentagon Press Corps.

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BOARD MEMBER

In his later years, Norman was an enthusiastic researcher of the American Colonial Period, served as a historian of the French and Indian War Foundation and a board member of the Braddock Road Preservation Association.

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French and Indian War books:

He compiled what is considered to be one of the most comprehensive studies identifying and locating forts of the French and Indian War. He is the author of Frontier Forts of Berkeley County (1999), French & Indian War in Frederick County, Virginia (2000), Valley of the Crooked Run: The History of a Frontier Road (2002), Fort Loudoun: Washington’s Fort in Virginia (2006), Braddock’s Road: The Final Thrust (2011), Braddock’s Road: Mapping the British Expedition from Alexandria to the Monongahela (2013) and Braddock’s Road: Historical Atlas (2016).

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AWARDS

Norman received a number of awards during his lifetime including the Golden Owl award of the National Press Club, the Life Membership Award of the National Space Club, the 1959 Congressional Robert Hutchings Goddard Medal, the Stewart Bell Jr. Award, the Shenandoah University’s President Award, the Fort Loudoun Award, the 2013 Judge Robert Woltz History Award. In 2011, he was inducted into the Virginia Historical Series Hall of Fame.

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Norman will be lovingly remembered by his wife, Suzanne, his brothers Glenn and Donald Ray; his children Gary, Molly, Syntha, Suzy and Maggie; grandchildren Lora, Alexandra, Catherine, Matthew, Cameron, Patrick, Harrison, Kathryn and Jack; great-grandchildren Taylor, Imogen, Sawyer and Izobel; and godchildren Tucker and Tommy.

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Norman was preceded in death by wives, Peggy Woody, and Lois Shanner Baker, his son, Alan Dale Baker and sisters, Rose Mary Babcock, Glenda LaBlance and brothers, Eugene Baker, Charles Baker.

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FUNERAL

A funeral service will be conducted at 11 a.m. on Thursday, September 5, 2019, at Omps Funeral Home, Amherst Chapel, 1600 Amherst Street, Winchester, Virginia.

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Interment will be in Mount Hebron Cemetery, Winchester, Virginia. A luncheon will follow the interment at the George Washington Hotel, Ft. Loudoun Room.

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Please view obituaries and tribute wall at www.ompsfuneralhome.com

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