Major Edmund Lee Barker

Major Edmund L. Barker U.S. 9th Army - WWII

The Ninth United States Army was organized in April 1944 at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and placed under the command
of William H. Simpson. The Ninth holds the distinction of being the first Allied army to cross the Elbe River and would
have been the first into Berlin were it not for orders issued by higher command to cease advancing. Red and white are
colors associated with armies. The nine-sided figure indicates the numerical designation of the organization. The white
letter "A" represents the first letter of the word "army."

9th Army Campaigns in World War II include Northern France, Rhineland, and Central Europe.

(INSET PHOTO CREDIT: NARA) The American Generals:
seated left to right are William H. Simpson, George S. Patton, Jr.,
Carl Spaatz, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, Courtney H.
Hodges, and Leonard T. Gerow; standing are Ralph F. Stearley,
Hoyt S. Vandenberg, Walter Bedell Smith, Otto P. Weyland, and
Richard E. Nugent. Circa. 1945.

Lt.Gen. William H. Simpson

Anyone who studies the military history of any conflict, knows the names of the war heroes; the highly decorated soldiers and the famous generals. But I believe most of these well
known soldiers themselves would say that the war was truly won by the everyday American soldier, the GI, trudging through the dirt and mud of a foreign land, who made the
Allied victory and the defeat of the German Third Reich in WWII possible.
I was recently contacted by a wonderful woman who donated two scrap books to my collection, both of which were from the family of Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Lee Barker of
Concord, New Hampshire. A large portion of these scrap books followed the career of Mr. Barker, who ended the war with the rank of major, having served with the United
States 9th Army until the end of the war. This page is dedicated to the military service of Major Barker and the men of the 9th Army, the first Allied Army to cross the Elbe River
toward the close of the war. Had it not been for the politics of the war, the men of the US 9th Army would have undoubtedly been the first Allied soldiers to enter and capture
Berlin.

A Brief History of the United States 9th Army in WWII:

Right: A December 1941 calendar page from the Barker scrap book. Of
note is the hand written notation on the date of December 7th, indicating
"Pearl Harbor."

Above/Left: A homefront, propaganda result of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, an anti-Japanese card found
among the many items in the Barker scrapbook. Above/Right: A war bond effort to raise money for the American
soldiers fighting overseas.

Major Edmund Lee Barker Concord, New Hampshire:
At this time, not much is known about Maj. Barker's military career in detail. However, as research into his military career
progresses, the information will be added to this page.

University of New Hampshire:
Edmund Barker graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1937, with a degree in Civil Engineering. During his
freshman and sophomore years, he ran track, then transitioned to the Lacrosse team where he remained during his junior and
senior years. Mr. Barker also pledged and gain membership into the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.

Ruth Darlene Morrison:
It is unknown when they met, but at some point Mr. Barker meet his wife to be, Ruth Darlene Morrison, who graduated from
Concord High School on June 21, 1935. Mr. and Mrs. Barker were married on July 2, 1942, in Concord, New Hampshire.
From everything found in the scrapbooks, it is apparent that they had a deep affection for each other. Mr. Barker adoringly
referred to Mrs. Barker as "Tink."

Civilian Life:
Using his college degree, Mr. Barker went on to obtain a job as an assistant engineer with the State of New Hampshire, Public
Service Commission, prior to the start of the war and the beginning of his active duty military career.

Additional Information:
In looking through the large volume of items found with the effects of Mr. Barker, I repeatedly came across photographs with a
gentleman identified only as "Warren." After contact with the family, it has been discovered that Warren is actually Mr.
Barker's brother. You will see some of Warren's photographs below as well.

Above: An original US 9th Army shoulder insignia
worn by Major Edmund Barker. (This shoulder
insignia was officially worn by members of the US 9th
Army from: September 21, 1944 - October 1945.)

Left: Mr. Barker's civilian business card as an
assistant engineer.

Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Lee Barker:
Below are just a few of the numerous photographs of both Edmund Lee Barker and his wife,
Ruth Darlene (Morrison) Barker, also known as "Tink."

Above/Left: Photographs of Ruth Darlene "Tink" Barker and Mr. Barker. The photograph to
the right shows a Camp Gordon, Georgia ID issued to Mrs. Baker, while then Lt. Barker was
assigned to the 256th Engineers.

Above: Four photographs of Warren in his wartime uniform. The photograph second from the left shows Warren wearing the cap badge of a
civilian flight instructor. The photograph on the far right shows Warren posing with "Mrs. Barker", presumably this is Edmund Barker's mother.

Above: Three photographs showing the wedding of a couple only identified as Orton and Wyn Hubbard.
The largest photograph is a reversed photograph from the negative as shown by the campaign ribbons on
Mr. Hubbard's chest being on the wrong side. The photograph in the lower right corner shows Mr. and
Mrs. Barker standing with the Hubbards on their wedding day.

Edmund Lee Barker Overseas; Photographs of his Military Service:

The photographs below are just some of the photographs showing Edmund Barker's military service time in
Europe. The majority of the captions under the photos are the captions written by Barker after his return from
the war and accompanied the photographs within the scrapbooks.

Above: A large group photograph identified as the "Hqs. & Hqs. Co. 1147 Engineers C. Group, Antwerp, Belgium - June 1945." This information and the names of the men in
the photo is handwritten on the back of the photo by Mr. Barker. The names are listed as follows:
1st Row (left to right): Simmons, Lemay, Straks, MacDonald, Brown, Santina, Robb, Himes, Barker, Burwell, Jirka, Nepute, Reardon and Esterline.
2nd Row (left to right): Berg, Gentile, Mushow, Coculo, Costello, Benson, Celani, Hohman, Trotter, Deal, Graham, Guidry, Mitchell and Tait.
3rd and 4th Row (left tor right): Hoffman, Sauls, Hibbard, Lasker, Kaplan, Motino, Betherum, Katzenstein, Simmons, Caporale, D'Ordine, D'Amato, Hancock, Harmon,
Pollock, Wright, Masrollilo, Hazle, Fox, Nipper, O'Hara, Wolden, Rabinowitz, Michael, Myers, Bullard, Hecht, Androw, Gomez, Boyle, Lanius, Sprague, Eckenroth, Kelley,
McLean, Harder, Small, Diorio, Osburn, Cotter, Savage, Aster, and Lyons.

Above/Left: A photo showing the British Red Cross Mobile unit delivering donuts and coffee to men of Barker's unit. Above/Right: The
personal jeep assigned to Mr. Barker. The writing on the back of the photo indicates this accident occurred when Mr. Barker was showing "a
cook" how to drive!

Above: Outside a cafe in England following breakfast, showing (left
tor right) Esterline, Straks, Brewer, MacDonald, Lemay and Sgt. Benson.

Standing on the balcony of his HQ building in Baal,
Germany, Barker displays a captured German combat
helmet and Mauser rifle.

A photograph of 1st Sgt. Celani.

Barker's HQ building on Lehtre, Germany.

Barker's HQ building in Alfeld, Germany. The writing on the back of the
photograph indicates the photo was taken just after VE Day, at which
time the United States flag was openly flown at half mast.

Above: Barker poses while standing on a river bridge in the town
of Alfeld. The photograph to the right shows then Lt. Straks
standing on the same bridge.

Left: A photograph taken by Barker while on leave to Paris, showing the grave of an
unknown German soldier. The simple caption on the back of the photo indicates the
sentiment of the time: "A good German." While the words may seem harsh now, it is
not hard to understand who men in combat came to feel this way after such close
encounters with enemy soldiers.

Two photographs taken by Barker from the driver's seat of his personal Jeep. The captions on the back of the photographs identified
these as columns of recently liberated French POWs, marching their way back to Paris.

A travel pass issued to Capt. Barker for a three day leave to Paris.

An American GMC 2 1/2 ton truck transports German POWs
to an unknown destination.

The photograph on the left shows Barker posing with the unit's Catholic Chaplain,
Reardon. The photograph on the right shows Catholic Chaplain Reardon posing with
Protestant Chaplain Simmons.

Three photographs showing a captured German staff car which was pressed into service by Barker's unit.
The photograph to the right shows Barker sitting in the captured staff car, with the writing on the back of the
photograph indicating that the interior was upholstered with red leather.

Barker and Capt. Nepute.

The above photograph was taken at Wessel, where the 9th Army first crossed the
Rhine river. In the background is the original bridge which was destroyed by the
Germans to slow the advance of the Allied armies. The wood railing in the
foreground of the photograph is the temporary, Franklin Delano Roosevelt bridge,
erected in place to allow the advancing armies to continue their pursuit of the
fleeing German army.

Ruth Darlene Barker's war ration coupon book.

Undoubtedly the perks of war and command, two certificates showing the
then Capt. Barker being granted permission to bring captured German items
back to the United States. Of note is the very low serial number on the
Luger he obtained and brought back with him from the war.

This is a small cross section of the items relating to Maj. and Mrs. Edmund Lee Barker and their time during WWII. If anyone has any additional information relating to Capt. Barker
or any of the other soldiers mentioned on this webpage, please feel free to contact me. I would enjoy adding additional information about any of the men who served with Maj.
Barker during the war.

A special thank you for Mylinda Woodward, of the University of New Hampshire, for all of her help and assistance in gathering pre-war information concerning Maj. Barker.

Above: A photograph showing the University of New Hampshire rifle team in 1936.
Barker is seen in the second row, on the far left.

A Brief History of Major Edmund Lee Barker's Military Career:

While attending the University of New Hampshire, Edmund Barker completed advanced R.O.T.C. in Coastal Artillery, holding a commission as a 2nd Lt. beginning in 1937. He
also maintained a National Guard commission as a 2nd Lt. in the Coastal Artillery (AA).
Barker entered active military service on September 16, 1940 with the New Hampshire National Guard. On March 26, 1943, he entered the United States Army with active duty
status at Fort Eustis, Virginia. He remained with the Coastal Artillery until December 31, 1944, then transitioned to the Corps of Engineers, where he remained until August 31,
1946.
Entering active duty as a 2nd Lt., Barker received his first promotion to 1st Lt. on October 27, 1943, which stationed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. His next promotion to
Captain occurred on December 16, 1944 while stationed in England. Following the end of the war, Barker received his last promotion to Major on August 31, 1946, while
stationed at Fort Belvoir, in Virginia. This was also Barker's departure date from the active duty military.

Stations and positions held:

1) Company Officer 557 AAA AW Bn., Camp Davis North Carolina from June 30, 1943 to August 31, 1943.
2) Fort Jackson, South Carolina from September 1, 1943 to December 31, 1943.
3) Company Officer 256 Engineer C Bn., Camp Gordon, Georgia from January 1, 1944 to July 3, 1944.
4) Company Officer 1147 Engineer C Group, Camp Gordon, Georgia from July 3, 1944 to October 30, 1944.
5) European Theater of Operations from November 1, 1944 to August 11, 1945.
6) Assistant Post Control Officer, Fort Belvoir, Virginia from November 21, 1945 to August 31, 1946.

Campaigns of Battles participated in:

1) Battle for Central Europe February 27, 1945 to March 31, 1945.
2) Battle for the Rhineland April 1, 1945 to May 8, 1945.

Medals Earned by Major Edmund Lee Barker During his Service:

Below is a photograph of medals in my collection, showing a representative example of the medals earned by Maj. Barker during his
military service during WWII. (The only medal not shown is the American Defense medal.)

The C.E. Daniel Collection

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