Woodrow Wilson Barr | |
---|---|
Born |
Keyser, West Virginia |
June 8, 1918
Died | August 7, 1942 KIA at Tulagi |
(aged 24)
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/branch | United States Marine Corps |
Years of service | 1942 |
Rank | Private First Class |
Unit | 1st Raider Battalion |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards |
Silver Star Purple Heart |
Woodrow Wilson Barr (June 8, 1918 – August 7, 1942) was a United States Marine with the 1st Marine Raider Battalion. He was killed in action at Tulagi, Solomon Islands, August 7, 1942 — and was posthumously awarded the Silver Star medal for his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepedity in action" during the action at Tulagi.
Woodrow Barr was born on June 8, 1918 in Keyser, West Virginia. He graduated from Parsons High School; and following graduation worked for four years before enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps on January 13, 1942. He completed his recruit training at Parris Island, South Carolina, followed by training at Quantico.
He was deployed to the Pacific Theatre as a part of the 1st Marine Raider Battalion. Barr was one of 45 Marines who were killed in action during the U.S. recapture of Tulagi from the Japanese on August 7, 1942.
Barr was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.
The USS Barr (APD-39), a United States Navy Buckley-class destroyer escort commissioned in 1944, was named for Woodrow Wilson Barr. In 2012, legislation introduced to the West Virginia House of Delegates by Representative Gary Howell of Mineral County, named a bridge on US Route 50 in Burlington in honor of Barr.