In 1997 Vernor Baker was awarded the medal of honor. How was this award historically significant?

Vernon Baker was the first and only livingAfrican-American to be awarded the US Medal of Honor for World War Two heroism. He was a US Army Officer during the Second World War fighting against the Germans in northern Italy. He was an African-American assigned to the the all-Black 92nd Infantry Division. He performed these heroic actions in April 1945 and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. The DSC is the nation's second-highest award for valor. In 1993 the US Army began a review of his and other WW2 African-American heroes wartime service to determine if their DSC Awards merited upgrades to the Medal of Honor. Baker was one of seven US Army soldiers that had their awards upgraded to the Medal of Honor. Unfortunately, Baker was the only one of the seven still alive by the time it was awarded in 1997. President Bill Clinton did the honors personally at the White House on January 13, 1997.