James Eugene Baize
Founder and President

James E. “Jim” Baize is the founder and President of Baize Corp as well as other affiliated Baize companies including Baize Development Corporation, Baize Construction Management Corporation, Baize Hawaii Corporation and Baize Engineering Corp (SDVOSB).  He is also Partner in Brookhurst Development Corporation (BDC) wherein he oversees BDC’s Midwestern operations and manages the regional headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Jim has an extensive and varied background in architectural and engineering design, construction management and real estate development through the Baize family of companies he founded with offices in Colorado, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Guam, Philippines, China, Korea, Japan, and the corporate office in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Baize Development Corporation and its affiliates developed hundreds of government and private projects in numerous Pacific Rim countries and throughout the United States.  So successful were his operations that in 1995, an international multi-billion dollar engineering and project management conglomerate acquired a number of his companies.

Jim has been exemplary in his dedication toward community service by assisting a multitude of community organizations, including serving the Board of Education of Wayne Metropolitan School Corporation overseeing the financing of the Ben Davis High School, serving as Chairman of construction for the 10th Pan American Games, President of the Ben Davis Lion’s Club, and fundraising for both the baseball stadium construction at Marion College and the 10th Pan Am Games.

But perhaps his greatest contribution to our country was his service in War World II when he was in the United States Navy involved in four major invasions – Saipan, Tinian, Guam and Iwo Jima.   Jim was wounded numerous times, the most severely when the LCVP (landing craft) he was piloting onto the shores of Iwo Jima during the first wave of attacks was hit by a mortar, killing all 38 marines and his crew mates on board.   The explosion was so horrific that nearby Navy vessels reported Jim had been killed in combat, but an astute, brave marine swam out and rescued Jim.  With numerous ruptured vertebrae and shrapnel wounds to his face and body, he was given a Thompson machine gun and canteen off of one of the fallen marines, and for the next seven days fought enemy combatants side-by-side with the marine of the 4th Marine Division that had rescued him.    On the seventh day, another mortar hit next to Jim killing his rescuer while knocking Jim unconscious.   He spent the next seven months recovering in various V.A. hospitals, where he spent his time productively pursuing his GED, and thereafter getting degrees in engineering from the prestigious Northwestern University and Purdue.  By the end of the war, he had been awarded 23 medals.   Jim’s biography as an American war hero is told in the book Words of War, Volume IV, which is part of the Congressional Records and housed in the U.S. Library of Congress.    A photograph of the young Jim Baize in his Naval uniform is featured on its cover.

Jim Baize’s story has been retold in many journals and news sources, and his recent trip to revisit Iwo Jima as part of the Greatest Generation Foundation was featured on NBC News.   He is a frequent keynote speaker at numerous conferences and events as well as speaking at a multitude of schools and community, trade and veteran organizations.  He was recently a featured speaker at the Graduation Ceremony at Camp Pendleton.

Education:

  • Northwestern University: B.S., Mechanical Engineering
  • Purdue University: B.S., Nuclear Engineering

Professional Organizations

  • American Institute of Management
  • National Association of Power Engineers
  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers (Life Member)
  • Society of Heating, Refrigeration, & Air Conditioning Engineers
  • American Association of Energy Engineers
  • American Military Engineers
  • American Nuclear Society
  • International Association Of Hydrogen Energy

Membership in Military Organizations

  • American Legion
  • Purple Heart Association
  • Combat Veterans of Iwo lima Association of America
  • Veterans of Foreign Wars
  • Iwo Jima Survivors & USS Iwo Jima Associations
  • USS Highlands APA-119 Association
  • Marine Corps Heritage Foundation
  • US Navy Memorial Foundation
  • Marine Corps Association
  • Admiral Nimitz Foundation

Community service

  • Past Chairman of the Board, Indiana Amateur Baseball Association
  • Member 500 Festival Committee (1988-1990)
  • Chairman of construction for the io” Pan American Games (Indianapolis; 1987)
  • Donations of A&E Construction for Baseball Diamonds at Marion College
  • Donations of A&E Design and Construction Pan American Games
  • Donation of Sporting Equipment for the US Army in Iraq
  • Board of Education – Wayne Metropolitan School Corporation (Ben Davis)
  • President for the financing of the Ben Davis High School
  • Past President-Ben Davis Lions Club
  • Charter Member-Optimist Club of Indianapolis
  • Member of the Scientech Club
  • Director- D.J.Angus-Scientech Educational Foundation
  • Developed equipment for open heart surgery with Indiana University Medical School Staff

Awards and Recognition

  • 23 Military Medals honoring bravery and distinguished service during WWII
  • Awarded “Ethics In Construction” by Plant Engineering Magazine”
  • Chairman for the business promotion by the National Council Of Engineers
  • Veterans History Library of Congress
  • Raising the Flag over the Pentagon in Honor of Jim Baize July 4th, 2012
  • Greatest Generation Foundation – Honorary Guest to Iwo Jima, 2012
  • Outstanding Service Award by Lions International
  • Listed in 2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century
  • Honorary Flying Tigers Award By the Flying Tigers Historical Organization
  • Listed in 2006 Leading Scientists of the World
  • Awards Judge 2006 Intel International Science & Engineering Fair
  • Induction into the Indiana Military Veterans Hall of Fame
  • Grand Marshall- July 4th Oaklandon Parade
  • State of Indiana Distinguished Hoosier Award
  • Awarded the Best Dressed Man in the State of Indiana
  • Chapter – Boatswain’s Mate 2/C James E. Baize; “Words of War, Vol IV”
  • Featured in book “WWII Duty, Honor, Country”
  • Featured in “Life, Liberty and Resilience – A Man’s War Book”