The Baier Family: Generations of Service

Liam Smith

We at Elmwood Cemetery are honored to be the final resting place of over 800 veterans, all of them American heroes in their own way. In recognition of Veterans Day, we wanted to highlight the history of service in one of our families, who have represented their country in war for generations. The Baier family history is a proud history, and one of military service.

The first Baier interred at Elmwood who we know served was George Baier. He was one of the many men from this area who joined the Spanish-American War, where he served as a private with the 3rd Regiment of New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Company D. Ultimately, he wouldn’t see action in Cuba, where the war was being fought. Instead, Company D would be shipped throughout New Jersey and later down to Georgia before they were eventually relieved of duty following the end of the war. Still, he and all the men of New Jersey who volunteered their service did so expecting to serve in combat, and their bravery can’t be denied. He would pass away on August 11, 1934, before his son’s military service in war.

Now Mr. Baier’s sons, George, Edwin, Harold and William, would all follow in their father’s footsteps when they volunteered for military service during World War II. All four of them would join the Navy or Naval Reserve, and all four would serve honorably during the war. Interred at Elmwood are George and Edwin. George would serve during World War II as a Lieutenant, where he sailed in the Pacific. Edwin would obtain the rank of Lieutenant, Senior Grade. He wouldn’t sail, instead being headquartered at the Bureau of Ships in Washington, DC. He would retire from military service in 1947, two years after the end of the war. George was a city councilman and freeholder before the war and after the war became the director of the Middlesex County Welfare Department. After the war Edwin would serve in the community in many capacities, joining the boards of The New Jersey blind, New Brunswick Free Public Library, and New Brunswick Tomorrow.

Edwin Woodrow Baier

According to Edwin’s son, Bruce, he was proud of his service in the Bureau of Ships. He  ordered some thousands of timers and buoys for the D-day landing, The timed buoys were submersed and released on D-day to set up channels for the landing of crafts. His work after his naval service would continue to inadvertently help many veterans of World War II. He worked at the New Brunswick Savings Bank, where he rose from head teller to President. While he was the mortgage officer of the bank, he helped out thousands of veterans get their first mortgages. 

William and Harold, while not buried at Elmwood, are nonetheless worthy of discussion. William would serve as a Commander in the Navy and Harold would have the most distinguished career of all his brothers. Interrupting his college education to serve in the US Naval Reserve, Harold would become a communications officer and would ultimately end up landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day, serving with the 7th Beach Battalion. After three months in Europe he would be shipped back to the US, and following that he would be reassigned to the Pacific; he would end up serving in both Iwo Jima and Japan. After the war he would remain in the Naval Reserve, retiring after 24 years of service. Ultimately, he would earn the Army Distinguished Unit Citation, the European-African-Middle East Service Medal with one star, the Asiatic Pacific Theatre Medal, and the WWII Victory Ribbon. After the war he would become a doctor. Harold is buried in Montana, where he lived after retiring, and William is buried at Arlington Cemetery.

The four Baier brothers were one of many families who had all of their sons serve in the military during the war. After World War II the military would establish the Sole-Survivor policy, and stories of these families would inspire the film Saving Private Ryan. But for the Baier brothers, they were just doing what they had to do to serve their nation. Even their sister, Marjorie, would do her part as she taught swimming, life saving, and first aid classes during World War II. Truly, nobody could deny that the Baier family was doing their part in the war effort.

George Baier Jr.’s son, also named George, would be the next generation to serve in the military, following in his grandfather, father, and uncles’ footsteps. He would end up serving during the Vietnam War as part of the Army. Unfortunately, he passed away young at the age of 49 in September of 1994. He is the last Baier honored at Elmwood to have served in the military. Still, we do have two more service members who married into the family. The first is Dr. Phillip J. Kunderman, an Army surgeon who served during the Normandy Invasion. He married Shirley Buttler, the sister of Edwin Baier’s wife Phyllis Buttler. The other is Daniel O’Brien, who married the niece of George, Edwin, William, and Haroldd. During the Vietnam War he served as an Army Intelligence Officer, Headquarters Staff, U.S. Army Pacific.

In all ways imaginable, the Baier family is the perfect example of service to their country. Generations of their family throughout the twentieth century have been ready to sacrifice it all for their nation. On this Veterans Day, let’s take the time to honor them and every other veteran who has served America so valiantly.

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Sources:

Correspondence Relating to the War with Spain. Vol. 1. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1902.

“Daniel O’Brien Obituary.” The Washington Post, March 15, 2019. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/daniel-o-brien-obituary?id=1793179. 

Holyoak, Sandra Stewart. “Baier, Harold L.” The Rutgers Oral History Archives, May 30, 1996. https://oralhistory.rutgers.edu/interviewees/30-interview-html-text/739-baier-harold-l. 

Keppler, James G. “The Roster of the 3rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry.” The Spanish American War Centennial Website. Accessed January 5, 2024. https://www.spanamwar.com/3rdNJroster.html. 

McSherry, Patrick. “A Brief History of the 3rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry.” The Spanish American War Centennial Website. Accessed April 15, 2024. https://www.spanamwar.com/3rdnewjersey.html. 

“William H. Baier, 60, Navy Fiduciary Aide.” The New York Times, March 19, 1973. https://www.nytimes.com/1973/03/19/archives/william-h-baier-60-navy-fiduciary-aide.html. 

“William Howard Baier.” Veteran’s Legacy Memorial. Accessed November 5, 2024. https://www.vlm.cem.va.gov/WILLIAMHOWARDBAIER/FDB5.

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