Ward J. Baker

Ward was born on January 21, 1932 in Chicago, Illinois. After graduation from high school, he attended Drake University on a football scholarship and later graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. On August 1, 1955, he received his pilot wings and a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force at Williams AFB, Arizona. Ward married Lydia Paradis, his wife of 66 years, in 1957 in a small chapel on a military base outside of Bangor, Maine.

During his twenty-eight year Air Force career, he served twice in Germany, the Philippines, and a number of bases within the United States. While in the Philippines, he participated in air operations in Vietnam and Laos from 1968 through 1971. Among his numerous decorations were the Legion of Merit, The Distinguished Flying Cross, The Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, and the Air Medal with eleven oak leaf clusters.

In 1982, following a tour of duty in the Directorate of Air Force Operations in the Pentagon, he retired from active duty, and assumed the position of Senior Staff Engineer in the Engineering and Air Safety Department of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) in Washington, D.C.

Following a fifteen-year career with ALPA, he again retired and relocated to Goodyear, Arizona, where he continued to act as a consultant to ALPA and also the Operations Safety Department of America West Airlines.

Ward’s life was dedicated to serving others including his family, community, and his country. He loved flying and enjoyed sharing his passion for aviation history by serving as a volunteer at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum in Washington DC.