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In
Memory of George Barber
George
Russell Barber, an Army chaplain from
the U.S. landing at Omaha Beach on D-Day
during World War II, has died at age
90. Barber died Dec. 17 of causes related
to old age at Presbyterian Intercommunity
Hospital in Whittier, said his son,
Don Barber.
Barber
was one of four chaplains with the Army's
1st Infantry Division at Omaha Beach
when Allied forces stormed the shores
of Normandy on June 6, 1944.
He spent the day ministering to the
wounded and dying at Omaha, where more
than 1,500 troops were killed after
meeting fierce resistance from German
gun encampments. Over the next several
days, he prepared the dead for burial
and helped select the site of a U.S.
cemetery overlooking the beach, his
son said.
He
served throughout Europe during the
war, ministering during the Battle of
the Bulge and the capture of the strategic
bridge at Remagen, Germany. Barber later
ministered with the Air Force during
the Korean War, remaining in the Air
Force Reserve until 1969 and serving
during the Vietnam War at March Air
Force Base. He retired from the ministry
in the early 1970s.
Throughout
his service, Barber "was there
as a man of God, to lead men closer
to God and to help with morale and families
and loved ones, and to face up to the
fact that they are called upon to kill
people," he once said. "War
is one of those necessary evils in a
world where nations are led by evil
men like Hitler and Mussolini."
Born in Buckhead, Ga., he attended Cincinnati
Bible College and later moved to California.
He worked as a minister at a Montebello
church before becoming pastor at Pico
Rivera Christian Church.
In
1941, Barber joined the horse cavalry.
He was deployed to England with U.S.
forces preparing for the invasion of
Europe. After leading prayers over his
ship's loudspeaker on D-Day, he got
into a landing craft with 30 others.
In
addition to his son Don, Barber is survived
by another son, George, of Macon, Ga.,
four grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Funeral
services were scheduled for 3 p.m. Monday
at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier.
Memorial donations should be made to
the National D-Day Museum.
From
the Los Angeles Times
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