By Rick Shockey
One of the hardest decisions that had to be made by any United States President was the decision to deploy the world’s first atomic bomb to force an enemy combatant into surrender. That historic decision faced Harry S. Truman, our Thirty-Third President, in the final months of 1945 and that enemy was the Empire of Japan. Truman was given that responsibility due to the untimely death of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in April of that same year. Roosevelt had led America through the early part of World War II and now his Vice President would take center stage in the world conflict.
As a result of the Allied victory on the island of Okinawa in September, American forces were now at the doorstep of mainland Japan. Many American military planners believed that after the crushing defeat of the enemy’s forces on Okinawa, the Japanese would surrender and peace would once again exist throughout the world. After all, other members of the Axis Powers had surrendered including the once mighty German war machine and the less formidable Italian military. However, the Japanese military refused to follow the capitulation pattern of its war partners and vowed to continue to fight to the death. Therefore, it was clear that an invasion of Japan was the only way to conclude the War in the Pacific and to force the Japanese into an unconditional surrender. By early 1945, there appeared to be no other option.
A plan for invading Japan was already being devised when the Allied invasion of Okinawa was in its early stages. The proposed plan was one that most military leaders did not want to consider and all dreaded to have to execute. Many of those leaders believed that it would take more than two million infantry soldiers to launch an invasion of Japan. They also believed that the war would drag on for at least two or three more years and that thousands of young Americans would be sacrificed to bring the war to an end. In fact, the military had already ordered 400,000 Purple Heart Medals to be awarded posthumously to American troops when the attack on the Japanese mainland was ordered. Therefore, Allied leaders searched for another viable alternative to avoid a costly ground invasion. That alternative was the atomic bomb. The bomb was used to save thousands of American and Allied soldiers. It was used to save men like local soldier and battle-hardened hero John Barney.
John Commodore Barney was born on September 24, 1914, in Hardy County, West Virginia in the town of Wardensville. He was the son of John Delano Barney and Mariah Rachel (Walker) Barney. The Barney family consisted of seven children. There were three boys and four girls. Johnny, as the family called him, was the oldest of the Barney children. He was followed by Ruth, Charles Henry, Mary, Louise, Elaine and the youngest child was named Alton Ray. The family called Alton, “Bud”.
The Barney family had a long and historic lineage in America that can be traced back to the mid-17th century. The patriarch of the family was William Barney who was born in 1631. The most famous family member by far was Joshua Barney. Joshua left the family farm at the age of seventeen and joined the colonial navy. In 1771, he became an officer in the American Continental Navy. He fought in the American Revolutionary War with distinction and later reached the rank of Commodore. When the war of 1812 broke out Joshua was again called to service. After the war Commodore Joshua Barney died in 1818 in Pennsylvania. Johnny’s parents gave him the middle name of Commodore in honor of their family’s famous naval hero.
During World War II, it would be a challenge to find another local family who contributed to the American cause more than the Barneys. John entered the army on November 18, 1941, just weeks before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. His younger brother, Charles, served in World War II as a member of the United States Army Air Force. Charles reached the rank of Sergeant and fought in the Pacific Theater aboard a troop carrier as an aerial engineer. John’s sister Ruth was a Lieutenant in the Army Nursing Corp after she graduated from the University of Washington. Alton was too young to fight in World War II. However, he served in the army during the Korean War.
Johnny attended grammar school in Wardensville and was a good student. He was left-handed and he loved to draw. He was also a good carpenter and enjoyed making furniture for the family home. While growing up, he worked on the family farm and helped his father at his mill. At the time Johnny finished grammar school, Wardensville didn’t have a high school. The closest high school was Capon Bridge High School, which was more than twenty miles away. Unable to travel that distance, he was never able to further his education even though his father wanted him to do so. Before the war, John was employed at the Delco Electric plant. He was part of the workforce that installed the first electrical power lines in his hometown.
After registering with the Selective Service, John was ordered to report to the local induction board located at the National Bank in Moorefield on November 17, 1941, at 8:00 A.M. He was officially inducted into the U.S. Army at the Recruit Induction Center in Huntington, West Virginia. After being sworn in on November 18, 1941, John left West Virginia and was bused to the Recruit Reception Center at Fort Thomas, Kentucky where he remained for a month. When John enlisted in the service, he was twenty-seven years old. He was 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed 146 pounds. With John’s prior work as an electrician, the army agreed that he was a perfect candidate for the Signal Corps. The function of the Signal Corps at its basic level was to provide communication support for America’s military forces. Private Barney was assigned to the 37th Infantry Division.
In tracing the steps of the 37th Infantry Division, it was basically a history of the entire War in the Pacific. When the Buckeye Division was first sent to the War in the Pacific, they landed on the Island of Fiji. The division was at Guadalcanal in 1942 which was America’s first offensive island assault of the war. After the fighting on Guadalcanal, the division was sent to take New Georgia and then to Bougainville. The men of the 37th division was present during the retaking of the Philippine Islands in 1944. Finally on June 9, 1945 the division was sent to Luzon. Private Barney was a part of all of these historical and bloody engagements.
During intense combat to take Luzon, on June 24, 1945 near the town of Tumauini at 2:30 A.M., the enemy struck the 37th Infantry Division by surprise. The Japanese opened up the night skies with a tremendous artillery barrage on the unsuspecting American troops. The artillery shelling was followed by an all out Japanese infantry attack. John and the rest of the men in the regiment took cover during the explosions as they prepared their response. As John was preparing to return fire, a large artillery shell landed near his position. The blast of the explosion was intense and he was killed instantly. After the fighting subsided and the Americans destroyed the enemy force, Sergeant John Barney was removed from the battlefield. He was given a military burial at a temporary gravesite.
A letter dated August 13, 1945 from First Lieutenant James Davis was sent home to his mother. The letter told the family about John’s death and also praised him for his service. It read in part, ”John had been a member of the organization for more than three years, and during that time proved himself to be a sincere, conscientious, and industrious soldier. His cheerfulness and ability to get along with others was an inspiration to those with whom he worked. He served faithfully with the organization in the Fiji Islands, through Guadalcanal, New Georgia, Bougainville, and Luzon, Philippine Islands Campaigns, and was a credit to his organization and country.”
Less than two months after Sgt. Barney was killed on the battlefields of Luzon the decision was made to use the first atomic bomb to bring this grueling and long war to an end. On Monday August 6, 1945 the first atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima. Even after the destruction of Hiroshima, Japan still refused to surrender. Therefore, a second bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. Finally, as a result of the immense devastation of both cities, Japan decided to surrender thus bringing World War II to an end.
It was obvious that President Truman decided to drop the atomic bomb to save American lives, and it did. The bomb was dropped to save Americans like John Barney who had lost their lives during a vicious world war. It was dropped for men like him who had fought in the war from the beginning to the end. It was for John Barney and others who had survived those long and weary years of brutal fighting to meet their fate in the very closing chapters of World War II. The bomb was used for men like John Barney who had sacrificed so much of his time, his effort, his future, and ultimately, his life.
John had the opportunity to come home based on the Adjusted Service Rating System but chose to stay and fight. The Adjusted Service Rating System, implemented in May 1945, gave each soldier a rating card that ended with an overall score. The score was based on four criteria: one point for each month the soldier had served in the military, and one point for each month the soldier was stationed overseas. Five points were awarded for each combat award or medal that the soldier had earned, and twelve for each dependent child the soldier had, up to three children. The points were added and that determined the soldier’s position in line to come home. The magic number needed was 80 total points.
At the time of his death, John’s total number of points earned equaled 88; he had been in the military for 42 months, and he spent 36 oversees. At the time of tabulation, Sergeant Barney had been awarded two combat decorations giving him 10 more points. His 88 points qualified him for deployment home with the first group of soldiers. However, John knew that the War in the Pacific was not over. He felt that he was still needed and he didn’t want anyone else to fight his battles for him. So, he deferred orders to return home and continued to fight and serve in the Pacific.
The atomic bomb was dropped for men like John Barney and men like him who were highly decorated and awarded for their heroic military service. John earned the Good Conduct Medal and Ribbon, the Meritorious Unit Emblem, the American Defense Service Medal. He was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one Bronze Arrowhead for the invasion of Lingayen Gulf on January 9, 1945, and two Bronze Service Stars for participation in the Northern Solomon’s and Luzon Campaigns. His awards included the World War II Victory Medal, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one Bronze Service Star and the Presidential Unit Citation Badge. Finally, when he was killed, he was awarded the Purple Heart which along with several of his medals, were awarded posthumously and sent home to his family.
The bomb was dropped for John Barney and men like him who were less concerned about themselves and more about their families back in the states even during the war. He wrote many letters to his mother to comfort her and to reassure her that he was doing well. He wrote asking about Mary and never stopped until he received a letter from her personally. He often asked about Ruth and told the family how proud he was of her contribution to the war as a nurse. John wrote messages to Louise and Alton encouraging them to do their best in school. He inquired about Charles who was in the war and never stopped asking about him until Charles wrote to him to let him know he was alive and well. He asked about Elaine and was glad she was in college. He sent flowers to his mother and money for birthday gifts for his brothers and sisters. Only once did he ever ask anything in return. In a letter to his dad or “Pop” as it was addressed, he asked him to send him some chewing tobacco. Mr. Barney promptly honored his son’s request with a large package of several pouches of Mail Pouch chewing tobacco.
Shortly after the world finished celebrating the end of the war, the body of John Barney was removed from the temporary burial plot in the cemetery on Luzon and moved to a permanent location. The family was given permission to have his remains brought home. However, Mrs. Barney decided she did not want the body of her son to be brought home. She wanted him to remain with his fellow soldiers with whom he had fought and died. She did not want to tear her son away from his army buddies. Sergeant John C. Barney was buried in Plot D, Row 6, Grave 168, at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
This is a segment from Rick Shockey’s final book in the Hardy’s Heroes series “The War in the Pacific.” Mr. Shockey will appear in person at the Wardensville Spring Fest with copies of the book.
