Willis Baker:  

I have been married to my wife Lisa for 44 years and have two kids, Daughter, Adrienne (42), (married with three boys, Timothy, Davie, Thomas, and one girl Abigail) and my son Jeremy (28). I served for 20 years in the Army and Lisa 5 years. I also spent 6 months in Southwest Asia with the S2, 2nd Bde, 3rd Armored Div during Desert Storm. In November 2005, I was diagnosed with Throat Cancer. I spent the holidays going through Radiation and Chemotherapy. The radiation caused my throat to close to the point where I could not swallow food or drink. After not eating or drinking for about 10 days, I lost 45-50 lbs and finally had a feeding tube put through my chest to my stomach just so I could eat. It has been 17 1/2 years now and I finally gave up on the VA trying to keep my throat open. I still can not swallow. I will try again someday. I started back to work June 2007 at Tampa International Airport with the Dept of Homeland Security/TSA after a 19 months recovery. Workplace I left DHS/TSA in Jun '08 and took a job working with SGIS in Sierra Vista, AZ. I was an Instructor at Davis Hall on Ft. Huachuca for the Tactical Intelligence Analyst Course (96B/35F). At the end of June 2010, I returned home to watch my son play High School Football. 2023 has not been a good year. Once you receive radiation for cancer, it will stay with you your entire life. So, after 17 years, of radiation scaring building up around my trachea, in February I was admitted to the hospital because I could not breathe. I had a Tracheodemy performed and now I have a tube in my throat. Recovery has not been fun, but I am getting better. My 20 years in the Army. The following is my list of assignments: Basic Training ...Expand for more