BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Monitor Editor
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS—The director of the community partnership school in Keystone Heights will soon see her late husband’s name on the VA Clinic in Middleburg.
Last month Congress passed legislation naming the facility on College Drive in honor of Chief Petty Officer Andrew Baker.
Florida’s two senators and Congresswoman Kat Cammack applauded the bill’s passage, which now awaits President Biden’s signature.
“Honoring U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Andrew Kenneth Baker’s legacy of bravery and service to our country is the right thing to do,” said Senator Marco Rubio. “The new VA clinic in Clay County provides quality care to our veterans who have dedicated their lives to serve, just like Chief Petty Officer Baker.”
“Our veterans make countless sacrifices to defend our nation,” added Senator Rick Scott. “We must do everything possible to provide them with the support and care they need. I’m proud that this legislation honoring the legacy of U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Andrew Kenneth Baker has passed the House and is now headed to the president’s desk.”
Cammack said: “It is so special to see this bill across the finish line during the 117th Congress. I worked on this project during my time as deputy chief of staff for the district, and to see it finally pass both chambers and head to the president’s desk is an honor. I’ve come to know Ms. Tina Baker, Andrew’s widow, over the last decade, and it’s surreal to soon see her husband’s name in huge letters on the front of the building in Middleburg. His distinguished legacy will live on in the community that was such a huge part of who he was. Thank you to Senators Rubio and Scott and all of my Florida colleagues for your support of this effort.”
Baker died during a helicopter crash on the USS Taylor on March 13, 1997. His Seahawk, operating off the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, crashed at about 11:30 P.M. during a training exercise about 80 miles off North Carolina. It crashed while trying to refuel from the Taylor.
Tina Baker said the effort to name the facility in honor of her husband began around two years ago when then-Congressman Ted Yoho surveyed the community for a hometown hero in which to name the clinic.
“There was a contest where they had nominations and I nominated my husband with a write-up and submitted a picture,” Baker recalled. “He was one of five that were selected to be voted on.”
Clay County residents selected Baker as the honoree.
“Andy was a combat search and rescue swimmer who was killed during a SEAL training mission when his helicopter crashed,” Baker said.
She added that during the night training exercise, the crew of Baker’s helicopter was using night vision goggles.
“The USS Taylor was not configured with NVG lighting,” she said, “and since it wasn’t configured with that special lighting, they had to de-goggle, and they attempted to land the aircraft. The pilot became disoriented and flew into the ocean during a wave off.”
Baker said the crash claimed the lives of four sailors and left seven children fatherless.
Andy Baker was born in West Virginia but joined the military in Florida. He spent most of his career in Northeast Florida. He and Tina built a home in Middleburg in 1988.
“We raised two boys here,” Baker recalled. “His big thing was fishing. He fished a lot of the lakes here in Keystone and he was very familiar with the Keystone area. Rodman was one of his favorite places, as well as Lake George.”
Tina, herself a 23-year Navy veteran, said she and Andy met at Naval Air Station Jacksonville while taking a leadership class together.
“We kind of fell in love within a month or so,” recalled the former aviation machinist. “He went on deployment. We stayed in contact with each other, and when he came back off his deployment, we got married. Then I went on deployment.”
Baker said that for the first three years of their marriage the couple saw little of each other, passing between deployments.
Baker said her husband’s call sign: “Rambunctious,” fit his personality.
“Everyone who knew Andy would say they would see him driving around Middleburg with the window down and a big smile on his face.”
