Capt. William E. Barber, USMC

Capt. William E. Barber, USMC (HM29BZ)

Location: Morehead, KY 40351 Rowan County
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Country: United States of America
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N 38° 11.181', W 83° 26.107'

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Inscription

Recipient, Medal of Honor

A native of nearby Morgan County, Capt. Barber received our nation's highest decoration for bravery for heroically leading his Marine rifle company in a desperate five-day defense of a frozen mountain pass vital to the 1st Marine Division's breakout to the sea in December 1950 in the Chosin Reservoir campaign of the Korean War. Fighting in sub-zero weather against overwhelming odds, he was wounded on the first night of action, but refused evacuation and remained in action in command of his company. He was presented the Medal of Honor by President Truman at the White House on August 20, 1952.

A World War II veteran and former paramarine, Barber earned the Silver Star Medal and his first of two Purple Hearts as a second lieutenant at Iwo Jima, where he disregarded his own wounds and direct fire to rescue two wounded Marines from enemy territory. He also received the Legion of Merit for his service in Vietnam.

Barber enrolled at what is now Morehead State University after graduating from high school but interrupted his studies to enlist in the Marines in 1940. He returned to MSU while on active duty and earned a bachelor's degree in 1964. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1970 at the rank of colonel. He died in 2002 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. (Erected Veterans Day 2008))
Details
HM NumberHM29BZ
Series This marker is part of the Medal of Honor Recipients series
Tags
Year Placed2008
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Saturday, July 14th, 2018 at 1:01pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)17S E 286730 N 4229294
Decimal Degrees38.18635000, -83.43511667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 38° 11.181', W 83° 26.107'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds38° 11' 10.86" N, 83° 26' 6.42" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)606
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling South
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 150 University Blvd, Morehead KY 40351, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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