With tomorrow being Veterans’ Day, I’d like to introduce you all to someone very special. Sargent First Class George “Sonny” Barnett, Jr. was born in Hartford, CT in 1930. He was raised in a baby boomer family, and like many young men of that time, knew that his country may one day require his services. Then, it happened…On June 25th, 1950, our country entered the Korean War, and Sonny was indeed called to serve. He would join his father, George Barnett, Sr. on the Korean War front… In those days, there was no Internet, no email and no cell phones to stay connected with loved one. Families said good-bye for what would likely be weeks or months without hearing a word. Or perhaps, never hear from them again…. What was even more agonizing for those back at home, was the nightly lists…You see, every night, either on TV or radio, official government lists of soldiers killed or missing in action were read… Every family with a soldier overseas would tune in and pray…pray that the person reading the list would not speak the name of their son, their husband, their brother… The Barnett family was no different. Hoping, praying, pleading with the Almighty that they would not hear the name “George Barnett.” Ultimately, that was a prayer that was not answered the way the Barnett family had hopped for. George Barnett went missing on or about December 3rd 1950. When the family first heard the name, they had no way of knowing if it was George Sr. or George Jr. It would be several unbearable days before they learned that it was in fact Sonny who had gone missing during a firefight. It would be much, much later still that the Barnett family would learn of Sonny’s ultimate fate. George “Sonny” Barnett, Jr. was captured and held as a prisoner of war in what is now North Korea. He was given so little food that eventually he started to death, all before his 21st birthday. His body has never been returned home to US soil, and lays in a grave above what is known as the 38th parallel. You may be asking, why is this person, who died some 27 years before I was ever born so special that I would want to introduce him to you? He is special because Sonny was my great-uncle, and the younger brother of my maternal grandmother, and this story is part of my family’s contribution to why we celebrate Veterans’ Day. For all of you who served and came home, “Thank You.” And for all the Uncle Sonnys that never came back…We will never forget your honor, your service and your sacrifice.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Nov 2013 17:09:26 +0000
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