The Making Of A Marine Scholar

Dr. George A. Baker III distinguished himself both as a marine and educator; in this memoir, he looks back at a long life dedicated to serving others. From his boyhood in Sumter, South Carolina, to entering the service during the Cold War to his experiences on the battlefield, Baker examines his actions and those of others with refreshing honesty. As a confidante and contemporary to high-ranking military men, presidents, and Washington insiders, Bakers ascension through the military ranks allowed him to witness and analyze political and social changes from a unique perspective. He ultimately rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and his perspective of the Cold War, Vietnam, and politics provided him with a strong foundation to excel in his second career as an educator. Baker draws upon his experiences as a soldier, tactician, and teacher to share a theory of leadership that can be applied in various settings. Numerous vignettes offer powerful learning opportunities in various contexts. In The Making of a Marine-Scholar, discover untold history as well as what it really means to serve your country and fellow man. Baker presents a blueprint for living a rewarding life that has purpose and meaning.

This, the first of three books, takes the reader from Baker’s childhood experiences that contributed to his education as a leader, both in the military and in academia. At age sixteen he joined the South Carolina National Guard, where he served as a communicator in a 155 Howitzer Battery, in Sumter, South Carolina. On Christmas Eve, 1949, his mother, in desperate straits, took the life of his alcoholic father. Thereafter, the court finding her “not responsible” for her actions, she was institutionalized. He finished high school at Warren Wilson College, where he met the love of his life, Irene Case, from Charlotte. His Cold War experience ended when his Air National Guard unit was activated for the Korean War, in June of 1950. George Baker transferred to Presbyterian College, in Clinton, SC, where he qualified for the USMC Platoon Leader’s Course. Immediately thereupon he married Irene and upon graduation was commissioned a 2nd LT. In 1965, he entered The Basic School, at Quantico, VA and thereafter was assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, at Camp Lejeune, NC. He was then assigned to the 10th Marines (Regt), as a Forward Observer. Thereafter, he attended Ft Sill for two short artillery proficiency courses, becoming a regular USMC officer, and was assigned to sea duty aboard the USS Rockbridge, out of Norfolk VA. There he served for two years, two tours served in support of NATO forces. His next assignment brought him back to the 10th Marines as a battery commander. In 1965, Baker joined the 1st Marine Brigade in Hawaii, forward deployed to Okinawa, and landed in Vietnam in the Spring, of 1965. At the end of that combat tour, Baker received orders to a Naval facility in support of the President of the United States, commonly known as Camp David. Book Two, subtitled Hail to the Chief, continues this saga.

This book was begun in 2010, and was published in 2012. It has now been recast into three volumes in 2019-2020- each one career segments an adventurous career. It begins with over 20 years as a career Marine and a family acquired of three children, seven grandchildren and a wife who drove the entire process and made it work This family move over 20 times and in to Durham, NC for a Doctor of Education at Duke University, and to become possibly the first Marine officer to complete the Marine Corps sponsored program. We retired after two wonderful years on the faculty of the Naval war College in Newport R.I. After two years in Greenville SC again, it was off to Texas for an appointment at the University of Texas at Austin and finally as a distinguished University professor, at NC State University. At each stop in higher education applying and implementing all I had learned as director of the Instructional Management School and Dean of academics as the Marine Corps Educational Center in Quantico, VA and in The National Laboratory for Higher Education.. After a full career in the Marine Corps and 24 years of teaching in various communities, we retired again to Greenville, SC and worked an additional 10 years consulting and working as a coach in the Achieving the Dream project, partially funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The ribbon of the three books is the culmination of about a half century in educational leadership positions and as well in two tours in combat in the US Marine Corps. There is much to learn in my life’s story. I hope if you try one you’ll get the entire set. You cannot go wrong should you desire to become a leader, or a better leader regardless of your career,

The Making of a US Marine Scholar, in the original long work and the three works now published by iuniverse, Baker shares a theory of leadership that can be applied by change oriented leaders in a multitude of cultures and organizations. This volume is subtitled, Hail to the Chief, which begins with the surprise assignment as the Executive Officer, designate at the Presidential Retreat, Camp David. He then was selected for the military staff of the President of the United States, Lyndon B. Jonson. The second tour in vietnam brings an unusual WIA,a challenging relationship with one leader, and salvation with another. The third volume is a must read as Baker transitions to higher education and fights to win advancement to the more prestigious positions, and finds that his military and political skills properly applied bring continuing success.Dr. Baker is the author of twenty books, and numerous articles and technical reports. He is the editor of the first ever Handbook on the Community College in America.

The Marine Corps has always considered itself a breed apart. Since 1775, America’s smallest armed service has been suspicious of outsiders and deeply loyal to its traditions. Marines believe in nothing more strongly than the Corps’ uniqueness and superiority, and this undying faith in its own exceptionalism is what has made the Marines one of the sharpest, swiftest tools of American military power. Along with unapologetic self-promotion, a strong sense of identity has enabled the Corps to exert a powerful influence on American politics and culture. Aaron O’Connell focuses on the period from World War II to Vietnam, when the Marine Corps transformed itself from America’s least respected to its most elite armed force. He describes how the distinctive Marine culture played a role in this ascendancy. Venerating sacrifice and suffering, privileging the collective over the individual, Corps culture was saturated with romantic and religious overtones that had enormous marketing potential in a postwar America energized by new global responsibilities. Capitalizing on this, the Marines curried the favor of the nation’s best reporters, befriended publishers, courted Hollywood and Congress, and built a public relations infrastructure that would eventually brand it as the most prestigious military service in America. But the Corps’ triumphs did not come without costs, and O’Connell writes of those, too, including a culture of violence that sometimes spread beyond the battlefield. And as he considers how the Corps’ interventions in American politics have ushered in a more militarized approach to national security, O’Connell questions its sustainability.

This, the first of three books, takes the reader from Baker's childhood experiences that contributed to his education as a leader, both in the military and in academia. At age sixteen he joined the South Carolina National Guard, where he served as a communicator in a 155 Howitzer Battery, in Sumter, South Carolina. On Christmas Eve, 1949, his mother, in desperate straits, took the life of his alcoholic father. Thereafter, the court finding her "not responsible" for her actions, she was institutionalized. He finished high school at Warren Wilson College, where he met the love of his life, Irene Case, from Charlotte. His Cold War experience ended when his Air National Guard unit was activated for the Korean War, in June of 1950. George Baker transferred to Presbyterian College, in Clinton, SC, where he qualified for the USMC Platoon Leader's Course. Immediately thereupon he married Irene and upon graduation was commissioned a 2nd LT. In 1965, he entered The Basic School, at Quantico, VA and thereafter was assigned to the 2nd Marine Division, at Camp Lejeune, NC. He was then assigned to the 10th Marines (Regt), as a Forward Observer. Thereafter, he attended Ft Sill for two short artillery proficiency courses, becoming a regular USMC officer, and was assigned to sea duty aboard the USS Rockbridge, out of Norfolk VA. There he served for two years, two tours served in support of NATO forces. His next assignment brought him back to the 10th Marines as a battery commander. In 1965, Baker joined the 1st Marine Brigade in Hawaii, forward deployed to Okinawa, and landed in Vietnam in the Spring, of 1965. At the end of that combat tour, Baker received orders to a Naval facility in support of the President of the United States, commonly known as Camp David. Book Two, subtitled Hail to the Chief, continues this saga.