2nd Lieutenant Roy Elmer Barnes
Source: Find a Grave, courtesy of Rebecca Ewing Peterson
2nd Lieutenant (2LT) Roy Barnes of Charlie Company, 326th Airborne Engineer Battalion (AEB), 101st Airborne Division, was born in Shawnee, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, on February 26, 1917. Later that year, his parents, Ora Travis and Olive May “Ollie” (Ogle) Barnes, lost their firstborn son, Travis, at the age of 2 years and 6 months.
Roy Barnes attended St. Teresa’s Academy and Boise High School as a teenager. St. Teresa’s Academy was founded in Boise by five nuns on August 24, 1889, and initially only enrolled young women students. As of 1933, boys joined the girls at St. Teresa’s, so Roy must have been among the first male students to attend the academy.
He enlisted in the Army on July 1, 1939, and received his commission at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, on July 22, 1942. Fort Belvoir was the home of the Engineer School, which produced thousands of officers, NCOs, and enlisted engineers who saw action in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
Earlier that year, on February 6, 1942, Roy married Marguerite Sellman in Brown Land District, Texas.
2LT Barnes was assigned to the 326th AEB and trained with them at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. After having participated with the battalion in all the 101st Divisional exercises and maneuvers, LT Barnes deployed with the 326th AEB to England on September 5, 1943, when he boarded the S.S. Samaria at Pier 90, North River, New York.
After undergoing more intense training in England, LT Barnes jumped into Normandy on D-Day. Initially, the War Department had notified his mother he was missing in action, but she was later informed he was reported Killed in Action on June 6, as can be seen in the Morning Report of June 26, 1944.
Morning Report: Courtesy of Felipe Jirkal
Another Screaming Eagle had soared to the ultimate height. 🦅
LT Barnes was first buried at the Blosville Cemetery at Carentan, in Block I, Row 1, Grave 12. His younger sister, LT Gladys Barnes, was stationed as an Army nurse in England during WW2. Some time later, she was able to visit his temporary grave in France. In a letter home, she wrote he had been buried with full military honors.
LT Barnes would be reinterred at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, where he rests eternally in Block E, Row 20, Grave 18. Besides his parents, three brothers, and two sisters, he left behind his wife Marguerite and one daughter, Jean Ann, who was born on March 19, 1943.
At the time of his death, Marguerite was pregnant with their second child. On July 2, 1944, Roye Elaine Barnes was born, clearly named after her father who had just sacrificed his life for our liberation. Roye Elaine only recently passed away, on February 1, 2024, at 79 years old. May she rest in peace.
Two of LT Barnes’ brothers, James and Arthur, also served in WWII. Four out of six children from the family participated in the war effort. Three of them would return home. Thank you for your service.
Happy Birthday in Heaven, Roy.
Lest we forget. 🇺🇸
Resources
Find a Grave, Roy Elmer Barnes
Find a Grave, Arthur Kenneth Barnes
Find a Grave, Jean Ann Owens
Find a Grave, Roye Elaine Weise
The Idaho Statesman, Sunday, April 11, 1943 (Source: FindaGrave)
The Idaho Statesman, Friday July 7, 1944 (Source: FindaGrave)