02 Jul 2001 To a good friend and member of the Brotherhood of Marines. Thanks for saving my bacon, Hank. Ron, USMC rpowers@ghostdancer.com A letter to Ron from his daughter, Tracy.

 

14 Sep 2004 This is a class photo of the 19th Officer Candidate Class, 1957, Quantico, Virginia. Most of the men in this photo are unidentified. But two are known. One is Bill Chabot, who received his commission through the 19th OCC. The other is then-BUCK Sergeant Henry E. Barber Jr., USMC. He was the 19th OCC Drill Instructor and is standing front center next to the Class Officer. Regretably the nearly 50-year-old photo is damaged, creased right across Sgt Barber's face. None the less, one sees a sharp, proud Marine. Semper Fi! From a native Philadelphian and Marine, Jim McIlhenney christianamacks@comcast.net Photo courtesy of Bill Chabot

 

02 Jan 2006 1stSgt Barber was my recruiter in 1968 in LaFayette, Indiana. He inspired by example my desire to become a Marine. In one of our last conversations in LaFayette I told 1stSgt Barber I would join if he would promise I would go to Vietnam ... he smiled really big and said "Son, that is one promise I can keep". I was later sent to Dong Ha, Vietnam, where I ran into 1stSgt Barber. We talked about LaFayette and Vietnam, etc, and he said he would take me on patrol with him that week to have some quality time together. On that October afternoon 1969 a rocket came in from nowhere. I ran to his area actually looking for another friend. Barber's company hootch was flattened and he was choppered out. Another Marine [Martinez] was killed by the same rocket but my buddy was OK. Such a terrible loss. 1stSgt Barber was the epitome of a Marine. Semper Fi ... Phil Smith From a fellow Marine, Phillip R Smith psmith0314@aol.com

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall The 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines was withdrawn from Vietnam in October 1969. At the beginning of the month, the battalion was conducting combat operations around the Vandergrift Combat Base in western Quang Tri Province, but beginning on 08 Oct elements were relocated in sequence to the Dong Ha Combat Base and from there to Danang for embarkation in Navy shipping enroute Okinawa. On 23 Oct a command element and Kilo Company were at Dong Ha, India 3/4 was positioned 4 kilometers southhwest of the base, Lima 3/4 was working near the mouth of the Cua Viet River, and Mike 3/4 was conducting operations with the Army's 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division. The 3/4 Marines' Command Chronology contains the following entry for 23 Oct 1969: The two men killed in the rocket hit on Kilo 3/4's company office were 1stSgt Henry E. Barber and LCpl Eugene O. Martinez, of Jacksboro, Texas.

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