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Edward D. Baca

1938 Santa Fe, New Mexico - 2020 Albuquerque, New Mexico

BiographyEdward Dionicio Baca was a lieutenant general in the United States Army adn the first Hispanic Chief of the National Guard Bureau. Baca was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1938. His mother, Delphine Garcia, was a well nkown political activist and his father was a verteran of World War II and the Korean War. Baca joined the National Guard in 1956 shortly after graduating high school and followin gthe death of his father. He graduated from Office Candidate School in 1962 and became a platoon leade rin the 3631st Maintenance Company. He was deployed to Sout Vietnam for a time and when he was released from active duty on February 22, 1966 he returned to New Mexico and too command of the 3631st. He continued to advance through the ranks and in 1983 he was appointed by Governor Toney Anaya to be the Adjutant General of the New Mexico National Guard. He was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed Chief of the National Guard Bureau by President Bill Clinton in 1994. He retired on July 31, 1998. Baca died from leukemia on September 15, 2020 and is buried at Santa Fe National Cemetery.

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