Robert Alois Barker

West Point, 1938

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Joseph M. Cowan on July 8, 2015:

Robert Barker was born 17 February 1916 in Springfield, Illinois, the second son of Emily and Morton D. Barker. He enjoyed a secure and happy boyhood, being very popular and holding the respect of all who knew him. He thrived in sports and entered into all youthful activities. Educated in public schools of Springfield, he went on to Cincinnati, Ohio to finish his secondary education. Bob Barker had a strong desire for military service and was thrilled to receive an appointment to the United States Military Academy. Over 50 years have passed since Robert A. Barker left West Point to take up his first post at Plattsburgh Barracks. He had recently married Janet Tidmarsh. Shortly after, he was sent to work on the building of Fort Benning. With the desire for a more stable family life, he misjudged his options and asked for service in the Philippines. After an idyllic but brief life in the Islands, war clouds gathered and his wife, along with others and their dependents, were returned to the United States. A few months later their only child, Emily Louise, was born. Promoted to captain, Bob Barker took command of the Anti-Tank Company of the 31st Infantry and prepared for the possibility of war. On 7 December 1941 the Japanese struck the Philippines, and, for over four months, he and his fellow defenders held off the numerically superior forces of the invaders. Finally with supplies exhausted and no hope of reinforcements, the remaining U.S. troops were forced to surrender. Bob Barker was one of those who endured the Bataan Death March and then entered into a life as a Japanese prisoner of war. At great risk, Bob kept a secret diary from the start of his captivity until he was shipped out by the Japanese during the final days of war, only to find a horrible death. His diary recounts the endless days of forced labor, hunger, disease, brutal treatment and boredom suffered by the captured officers and men at the hands of their Japanese captors. There are flashes of humor, insights into character, kindness, and generosity revealed among his fellow officers, many of them named. Always he held the hope of rejoining his family and friends, but it was not to be. With the success of the returning U.S. troops at Leyte and Lingayen Gulf, the Japanese began to ship all able-bodied U.S. prisoners to Japan. Bob, then in Bilibid, was one of them. Over 1,000 men were forced into the dark and steaming holds of the Oryoku Maru to suffer three days of starvation, thirst and near-suffocation. On 15 December 1944, the unmarked ship was attached by U.S. Navy planes at Subic Bay. Heavily damaged, the vessel as abandoned, and after enduring 12 days of unrelenting cruelty ashore, the survivors were reloaded into the holds of the Enoura Maru to continue the most horrible voyage in history. That ship, too, was destroyed by our forces while in the harbor at Takao, Formosa. Bob was one of the few survivors to once again continue aboard another hell ship, the Brazil Maru, bound for Moji, Japan. He was not to arrive. Robert A. Barker, one month short of his 29th birthday, died 17 January 1945 from exhaustion and disease. He was buried at sea. A classmate writes: "During his cadet days, Bob was an "I" Company favorite of his classmates. He seemed to take in stride the challenges of plebe year, and, as an upper-classman, he handled academics and tactics with determination and relative ease. As a cadet, Bob is perhaps best remembered for his even disposition. A standout football player in high school, Bob was too light to play collegiate ball. His interest in sports, however, continued at the Academy. He was on the plebe hockey team, assistant manager of tennis in his yearling year and played on the goat football team his second class year. When I read Bob's Philippine Diary, I suffered alongside with his trials, and I especially admired him for his courage and the strength he showed while being so harshly treated. His is a credit to the Academy and an inspiration to those who know him so well."

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