Woodrow Wilson Barr

Woodrow Wilson Barr (June 8, 1918 – August 7, 1942) was a United States Marine with the 1st Marine Raider Battalion. He was killed in action at Tulagi, Solomon Islands, August 7, 1942 — and was posthumously awarded the Silver Star medal for his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepedity in action" during the action at Tulagi.

Biography

Woodrow Barr was born on June 8, 1918 in Keyser, West Virginia. He graduated from Parsons High School; and following graduation worked for four years before enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps on January 13, 1942. He completed his recruit training at Parris Island, South Carolina, followed by training at Quantico.

He was deployed to the Pacific Theatre as a part of the 1st Marine Raider Battalion. Barr was one of 45 Marines who were killed in action during the U.S. recapture of Tulagi from the Japanese on August 7, 1942.^[1]

Awards and decorations

Barr was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.

Namesake

The USS Barr (APD-39), a United States Navy Buckley-class destroyer escort commissioned in 1944, was named for Woodrow Wilson Barr. In 2012, legislation introduced to the West Virginia House of Delegates by Representative Gary Howell of Mineral County, named a bridge on US Route 50 in Burlington in honor of Barr.

See also

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

• Woodrow Wilson Barr, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy. Retrieved on 2006-07-17.
• "World War II Deaths" (republished by Tucker County West Virginia US GenWeb). Parsons Advocate. October 4, 1945. Retrieved 2006-07-17. . Contains obituary of PFC Woodrow Barr, who was from Tucker County, West Virginia.

• "Conquest of Tulagi, 7–8 August 1942". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy. Retrieved 2006-07-17.

Further reading

• "Guadalcanal-Tulagi Invasion, 7–9 August 1942". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy. Retrieved 2006-07-17.