""Heidy usually answers the phone. But I picked it up and said, 'Good morning.' The voice on the other end said, 'Mr. Baker, Vernon Baker?' I said, 'Yeah.' He said, 'What do you know a bout the Medal of Honor?' And I thought, 'Who in the hell is this nut?' and I started to hang up the phone. He said, 'Don't hang up! I'm Professor Gibran and I'm a professor at the Shaw University in North Carolina, and the Army has given us a $350,000 grant to investigate why no black Americans received the Medal of Honor during World War II.' And I said, 'Um, yeah, this is another one of those committees they dream up to investigate, and then all of a sudden they're gone.' Well, he said he'd like to come and talk to me, him and a Colonel Cash. He's deceased now. So I said, 'Okay.' We met them over at a hotel in Spokane for a couple of days, spent the time talking. All of a sudden, reporters started calling, and then people started showing up at the door, wanting interviews."