World War II veteran retires from police volunteer program

ANDERSON, Ind. (AP) - Carefully lowering himself into a plastic chair, Joe Barber propped his cane against a table and rested a worn hand on its surface. In an adjacent room, people were laughing, sharing memories and eating Barber's retirement cake.

For 25 years, Barber quietly served his community at the Anderson Police Department through the Retired Senior Volunteer Program. He logged data, worked in the black room developing photos and helped officers pursue information on stolen property.

"You don't replace a guy like Joe," Jerry Miller, assistant chief over non-uniform divisions for the Anderson Police Department, told The Herald Bulletin (http://bit.ly/1519SRd ). "He is a very honorable man, with a tremendous military service - something he doesn't talk about much."

On Wednesday, Barber, 89, thanked his friends on the police force and said it was time for him to move on.

"I've been a very fortunate guy," Barber said as he sat behind the table.

Barber talked briefly about his life of service. Looking down at his worn hands, the widower pressed his fingers together. A thin, gold band adorned his ring finger.

"I would be lost without it," Barber confessed of the wedding ring. "My wife has been gone now for almost two years."

Reflecting on his time of service, Barber was hesitant to share much about his history - including his military service.

Born in Muncie, Barber and his identical twin brother, Jack, spent most of their lives in the Madison County area after the family relocated to Middletown when the boys were about 3.

The brothers graduated from Middletown High School a year early and enlisted in the Navy to serve during World War II. Jack left for the military six months before Joe, taking advantage of an early-graduation option offered to seniors who wanted to join the war.

Joe waited until May before joining the military to serve as a hospital corpsman. Within a year, he was assigned to the U.S. Marine Fleet Force and joined the 1st Marine Division.

"You didn't get many choices in the military," he said.

Barber's first combat mission was on the shores of Peleliu. The island is one of many Palau Islands in the western Pacific.

"I know when I first hit Peleliu, I was scared of dead people," Barber said. "We landed on the beach, and I fell down next to some guy. Two guys were walking down the beach looking for dead people, and the guy I was laying next to was dead."

Barber had the morbid task of helping to locate and move soldier corpses during the Japanese resistance, which resulted in heavy casualties before the Americans could secure the island. The death toll at Peleliu is higher than any other U.S. military amphibious assault.

The members of Barber's unit received a presidential citation equal to the Silver Star for their service at Peleliu.

"I have two of them," Barber said. "I can't remember what they say now, but I have them."

During his second year of service, Barber received a letter that his brother Jack had died.

"We were very close," he said.

After a combat mission in Iwo Jima, Barber returned to Indiana, married a local girl and settled down to have a family. Eight years into their marriage, Barber said, the couple realized they could not have children.

Barber took a job with General Motors at Plant 7 in the mold/tool room, and the couple adopted three children. He retired from GM after 18 years.

"I wanted something to do to occupy my time," Barber said after his retirement.

He started volunteering at the police department. He admires the officers for their bravery.

"People don't know exactly how dangerous a job it is," he said. "They think all they have to do is write a ticket."

Barber's oldest son, James Ray Barber, knows his father has always been devoted to the people in his life.

"We never wanted for anything," James Ray Barber said. "He was the best father you could have."

Janet Harting has volunteered with Joe Barber for the past 13 years. She said he recruited her into the position, and the two joke about her tardiness.

"He is always there wherever we need him, and he never complains," she said with a laugh. "I bought him a card that said I like him as a boss because he is not bossy."

Harting related that, when Barber's wife went into a nursing home, he would visit her every day, just like James Garner's character in the movie "The Notebook," often spending all night at her side.

"He's sweet," Harting said.

"I just don't want him to slow down," James Ray Barber said of his father.

Barber said he wouldn't even know how to go about slowing down, and instead cherishes every moment of his life.

"I enjoyed what I did," he said.

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Information from: The Herald Bulletin, http://www.theheraldbulletin.com