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| Norman Barrett was a private in the 9th Infantry Division in Algeria and Tunisia. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/156880148/norman-e-barrett https://9thinfantrydivision.net/battle-history/tunisia-battle/ |
Norman E. Barrett never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on January 12, 1919 in Michigan. His parents Cyrus and Maud were born in Indiana and Michigan, respectively. His father worked as a laborer. Norman had one older brother, five older sisters, one younger brother and one younger sister. By 1930 Norman and his younger brother were boarders in a Kalamazoo children's home. His father was living on his own and worked as a barber. His parents divorced in 1935. By 1940 Norman had completed one year of high school and was married to his wife Rachel, living in Detroit. He worked for a beverage company.
He volunteered for the army on October 15, 1940 and was originally assigned to the Panama Canal. He eventually became a private in Company C, 1st Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division (Nicknamed "Old Reliables"). The 9th ID was one of the first American units to see action in WW2. It fought the French in Algiers in November 1942. Its artillery was engaged with the Germans on February 17, 1943, but the rest of the unit did no see action until March 28.
Pvt. Barrett died on March 25, 1943. One source says he died in the battle of Kasserine Pass, but his unit was not part of that action. He was also not in the 9th ID artillery, so he was probably not one of those February casualties. Perhaps he died of a non combat wound.
His grave is at Parkview Memorial Cemetery in Livonia, Michigan. I don't know what happened to his widow.
Last year on this date I profiled B-24 navigator Victor Kramer. You can read about Victor here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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ReplyDeleteHe was my great-uncle (maternal grandmother's brother). I heard he was killed in action and found dead a month later.
ReplyDeleteAlexandra, you should add his story to the www.storiesbehindthestars.org project.
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