James Adolph Baker, M.D. rose to the rank of Major in the National Guard of the Medical Corps, US Army. He served in WWII in the East Indies, Papua, Bismarck Archipelago, New Guinea and Leyte as Medical Officer: General Duty, in the SWPA (South West Pacific Area) infantry division as Battalion [Bn.] Surgeon.
He completed 1 year and 2 months in continental service at Brooke General Hospital, Fort Sam Houston, Texas in surgical service and in orthopedic service at Madigan General Hospital at Fort Lewis, Washington, as well as 2 years and 5 months in Foreign Service. He was awarded 6 Bronze Stars and a WWII Victory Medal. Dr. Baker's National Guard service was terminated in 1954.
Born in Gaston, Oregon on June 4, 1906, he had a brother, Russel L. Baker and sister, Fern Catherine Glover. About his younger years, Dr. Baker writes: "Summer vacations were spent at various jobs such as; logging camps; saw mills; farms; during high school I worked part time in a drugstore; the summer of 1929, I spent in Alaska, working for the Fair Banks Exploration Company, a large gold dredging outfit; during my four years medical school vacations, I spent as the night shipping clerk for the Gridley Dairy Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My last two years of medial school I spent the evenings operating the switchboard at the Deaconess Hospital, Milwaukee, Wisconsin". He later married Laura Lee Baker and resided at 1414 SW 6th Avenue, Aberdeen, Washington.
James Baker received a B.A. from Pacific University, 1925-1929. He also attended the University of Oregon, during the school year 1929-1930, but did not receive a degree. He matriculated in 1930 at Marquette University, School of Medicine in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he received his M.D., graduating, in 1934. He served at New York Polyclinic Hospital, New York, N.Y., as rotating intern from 1934-1936, and was surgical chief resident, 1937-1940.
Dr. Baker entered general practice in 1940 in Aberdeen, Washington, as a physician and surgeon and had a very busy industrial practice. He was on the staff of Grays Harbor Community Hospital, Aberdeen, Washington and St. Joseph Hospital, also in Washington State. He was also a contract physician and surgeon for the US Public Health Service.
Dr. Baker served as Diplomate of the National Board of Medical Examiners, 1939 and also held memberships in the American Medical Association, Grays Harbor Medical Society, the Association of Military Surgeons and the American College of Surgeons.
The materials were created/collected by James Adolph Baker, M.D. Sarah Munro, grand-daughter of Dr. Baker, donated the collection to the OHSU Historical Collections & Archives in the fall of 2004. The OHSU HC&A archivist processed the materials in May of 2005.
Some materials in this collection may be restricted due to the presence of protected health information (PHI) or other confidential information. Please contact Historical Collections & Archives for more details regarding access.
OHSU Historical Collections & Archives (HC&A) is the owner of the original materials and digitized images in our collections, however, the collection may contain materials for which copyright is not held. Patrons are responsible for determining the appropriate use or reuse of materials. Consult with HC&A to determine if we can provide permission for use.
James A. Baker Collection, Collection Number 2005-005, Historical Collections & Archives, Oregon Health & Science University
Oregon State Medical Society Accession No. 1997-003 Service Bulletin Cliff Morris Papers Accession No. 1998-006 Hills, Hilterbrant and Richards Papers Accession No. 1998-007 Evart A Tinker Photograph Albums Accession No. 2000-005 Colonel Strohm's Nurses Photograph Album Accession No. 2000-006 Charles F. Norris Photograph Album Accession No. 2000-007
OHSU Oral History Project Cliff Morris Donald Devlin E. Murray Burns Ruby Hills, Katherine Fisher Hildebrandt, and Edith Moore Richards
PNW Archives Burns, Edgar Murray, Notes on the U.S. Medical Service 46th General Hospital in WWII: history of the Oregon Neuropsychiatric Society. [1945-1979?]
Diack, Arch W. 46th General Hospital: University of Oregon Medical School in World War II, 1942-45, a sketch journal. Published by Arch W. Diack, 1986
Hills Ruby, Remembering Our Experiences in WWII: 1942-45, 1991. World War II and the Greatest Generation [video recording]: the University of Oregon Medical School history. [Produced by] Linda Weimer, Joan Ash. Portland: Oregon Health & Science University, 2001
The bulk of the materials in the collection consist of the military records of James A. Baker, date range 1938-1966. The collection also contains a small amount of material pertaining to his civilian medical practice, including some patient records (1936-1977), records of his brother, a patient with Parkinson's Disease, a small handwritten book of class notes and experiments on Organic Chemistry, a manuscript titled "Historical Outline: The Early History of Blood Transfusion," financial statements relating to lease agreements, and published articles.