Area family honors Washington veteran

WASHINGTON — Back when Washington had its own Marine Corps detachment, it flew the flag of the Harry B. Barker Marine Corps League, a recognition of the sacrifice made by a captain from the community who posthumously received the Navy Cross in 1944.

In the last decade, Barker’s oldest living descendants — niece Patricia Corriell and nephew Greg Mangold — have sought to nominate their late uncle to the Grinnell College athletic hall of fame, where he was once a football star and record-setting member of the track and field team. While their applications were unsuccessful, the two said their endeavor to tell his story was rewarding in its own right.

"The overarching thing is … the perpetuation of uncle Harry’s memory,“ Mangold said. ”This is all about him. We are doing our family duty to carry on his memory. My mother passed away some years ago, so did Patricia’s father, so we feel obligated, in a good way.“

The background was mostly gathered from boxes passed down by relatives: one was filled with photos and letters from friends, fellow officers and government officials. The other was packed with newspaper clippings, mostly focused on his time at Grinnell College.

“It was nice to have the stories that we’d heard validated by something that was written,” Corriell said. “Harry was really on a pedestal in the family, and you begin to wonder if they made him out to be more than he was, but I don’t think they did. He seemed to be a worker and, took care of other people.”

That validation was impressive. From sports coverage to commendation letters, to family documents, Harry Barker was held in high regard, across the board.

“You could just tell in write-ups, he was respected by whatever group he was with,” Corriell said.

Their research brought to light new stories the family hadn’t shared before, like Barker’s talent as a vocal soloist.

“I spoke to one of the members of his company … he said he would sing around the campfire in New Zealand — where they were training for the liberation of the islands — the Ave Maria,” Mangold said. “It was an inspiration to them.”

Still, the research process was powerful.

“It’s always poignant to read and see pictures again,” Mangold said. “One was a letter from his mother … dated to the same day he was killed.”

Around 2007, Mangold went to a reunion of Barker’s marine division in Texas, bringing a picture of his uncle in uniform.

“I heard a voice from behind me say, ‘That’s my captain,’” he said. “I spoke with a gentleman describing what happened. He saw that day, it was like he was back on the beachhead.”

The cousins said there was no length too far in their endeavor to learn more.

“We grew up knowing (Barker) as well as any of our living uncles, even though we didn’t meet him,” Mangold said. “I can remember being about 8 or 9 years old on the Crooked Creek bridge, the volley, it was something that was all part of the family, he was well-loved.”

Corriell said she agreed.

“Because it happened so long ago and he didn’t have any offspring, it was just a way to have his contribution acknowledged,” she said. “For some guy who left nothing behind, he left a lot.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com