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name
BARKER, Delford Wayne - Date of
birth
10 May 1925 -
Age
19 - Place of
birth
Refugio County, Texas -
Hometown
Tivoli, Refugio County, Texas
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
38556426 -
Rank
Private -
Function
unknown -
Unit
E Company,
2nd Battalion,
401st Glider Infantry Regiment,
101st Airborne Division
-
Awards
Bronze Star,
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
3 October 1944 - Place of
death
Near Middelaar, The Netherlands
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| C | 10 | 58 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Henry R. T. Barker (father)
Louise M. (Rickaway) Barker (mother)
Margaret L. Barker (sister)
More information
Pvt Delford W. Barker attended high school for three years.He enlisted at Fort Sam, Houston, Texas on 10 September 1943.
Pvt Barker was digging in near Middelaar, when the enemy opened fire with machine guns, and he was shot through te neck. The tactical situation prevented aid men from reaching him all the day and he was not evacuated before the unit was forced to withdraw the following night.
Following the end of the war, the areas of combat were thoroloughly searched but the remains of Pvr Barker were never recovered.
In August 1977, officials at the US Army Memorial Affairs Activity, Europe, Frankfurt, Germany, were notified by the Netherlands Army Graves Unit that they had in their possession the skeletal remains believed to be of an American soldier from World War II, based on identification tags for Delford W. Barker found with the remains. The remains had been discovered by a servey team while conducting a routine geographic survey in the area.
After examiniation in Frankfurt, based on comparison of physical and dental charateristics, recovery of the two ID tags and circumstances surrounding the location of the remains, it was concluded that the remains could be identified as those off Pvt Barker.
His mother requested that he would be interred in an American cemetery in Europe. The only available cemetery was that off Ardennes where the burial took place on 22 February 1978.
He is also remembered at the Walls of the Missing at the American Military Cemetery and Memorial of Margraten.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, www.ww2-airborne.us, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, IDPF
Photo source: Jac Engels, IDPF, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com