Sergeant Baty was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was seriously wounded by the enemy in South Korea on August 2, 1950 and returned to duty on August 9, 1950. He was listed as Missing in Action while fighting the enemy in South Korea on September 14, 1950. He was presumed dead on December 31, 1953.

Through the work of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, the remains of Sergeant Willie James Baty were accounted for in 2023. His name is permanently inscribed on the “Courts of the Missing” at the Honolulu Memorial.