Gregory Inman Barras

West Point, 1955

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by West Point 1955 on September 26, 2017:

Col. Gregory Inman Barras Birth: Oct. 13, 1932 Jackson, Mississippi, USA Death: Apr. 16, 1979 Khammouan, Laos Vietnam Veteran and native of Jackson, Mississippi. Col Gregory I. Barras was a casualty of the Vietnam War. As a member of the Air Force, COL Barras served our country until December 12, 1968 in Khammouan Province, Laos. He was 46 years old and was married. It was reported that he was killed when his plane crashed. He was born in Jackson, Mississippi, on October 15, 1932. His body was recovered. Col Barras is on panel 36W, Line 41 of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. He served our country for 13 years. His remains were brought back June 18, 1991; Identified November 18, 1998. The remains of an American airmen previously unaccounted-for from the war in Southeast Asia have been identified and returned to the United States for burial. The remains are identified as Air Force Col. Gregory I. Barras, Jackson, Miss. Barras was flying his A-1H Skyraider on a night armed reconnaissance mission on Dec. 18, 1968, over Khammouan Province, Laos. The target of his flight was a truck convoy. Barras radioed that he was beginning the attack on the target, but in the darkness, eyewitness pilots saw only a large flash near the target area followed by a series of explosions that formed a line 200-300 meters long. The other pilots were unable to establish radio contact with Barras, and heard no emergency beeper signals. In the light of flares dropped from other aircraft, searchers could see only wreckage of an aircraft, but no signs of a survivor. He was declared Missing in Action. In 1991, a joint team of specialists from the U.S. Joint Casualty Resolution Center and from Laos interviewed a local informant in a small village near the crash site. He recalled burying an American pilot nearby amid the widely scattered wreckage of an aircraft. The team excavated the site and found pilot-related items, personal effects and human remains. Col Barras was returned to a grateful nation and buried with military honors. He was the husband of Mrs Mary L Barras and the Father of Ryan Elisabeth Grigorievna Fleming and Richard J Barras. Col Gregory Inman Barras served as a Colonel with 22nd Special Operations Squadron, 56th Special Operations Wing, 7TH AF, United States Air Force, Vietnam. He was awarded: The Distinguished Flying Cross with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Medal with 7 Oak Leaf Clusters, USAF Commendation Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, Vietnam Service Medal with 3 bronze service stars, the Purple Heart for combat related wounds, Combat Readiness Medal, National Defense Service Medal, USAF Longevity Medal with 1 silver oak leaf, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm and the USAF Small Arms Expert Marksman Medal. Burial: United States Military Academy Post Cemetery West Point, New York, USA

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