Loren “Joe” Joseph Barker, 20, died Sunday December 7th, 1941 on the USS Arizona during the Pearl Harbor attack. He was the first Iowan from Van Buren county to die in WW II. Joe’s “cheerful and happy personality radiated far, and his companionship was sought after and cherished by young and old alike,” his obituary said.
Joe was born Aug. 23, 1921, to Joe M. Barker, a farmer, and Iva Keck Barker, a homemaker, near Keosauqua in southeast Iowa, population 1,040. He spent his life there until he enlisted in the Navy in March 1940. He was a coxswain and petty officer third class on the U.S.S. Arizona.
He was survived by his widow, Susan Elizabeth Tharp Barker, who was also from Keosauqua. They had graduated together in 1938 from Keosauqua High School. Apparently the young couple had secretly eloped. His mother witnessed their marriage on May 23rd, 1940 at the Baptist Church in Monticello, Missouri about 50 miles south, but otherwise their union was not made public until after he died.
A memorial service was held at the Methodist church in Keosauqua on Dec. 28, 1941, with his 1938 high school graduating class attending as a group. Members of the American Legion also participated and “Taps” was played.
Additional Comments:
Excerpts from June (Davis) Wiley’s story, “A Tale of Three Sisters”, Pg. 17. (Used by permission.)
“Joe was also known as “Little Joe”.
Loren “Joe” was stationed in Hawaii on the Battleship Arizona when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. He was the first Van Buren County, Iowa, serviceman to lose his life in WW2. He was buried at sea, but he has a tombstone in Oak Lawn Cemetery in Keosauqua, Iowa, where his parents, Joseph and Iva Barker, are buried.
“Joe was only a few years older than my sisters and me; we grew up with him more of a brother than an uncle. He was someone to be loved and to be feared. Many times I have been chased by him holding a rattlesnake. His hobby was catching rattlers, and he always had a homemade cage full o the fearsome things. When you were riding a pony, he would make it buck. I am not sure he was mean – just a tease and kept us stirred up all he time. The night before he left for the Navy he took me for a ride in the rumbleseat of his old car, and I cherish that memory.”
“We were in the midst of the Second World War. When the war was raging in Europe our teacher read the war news from the newspaper each morning. I paid scant attention – after all, why should I be interested in a war across the ocean? But that awful Sunday of December 7th, 1941, after dinner at our house with the Grandparents [Joe and Iva Barker], the radio was turned on for the news and we heard of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. We knew that Joe was on the USS Arizona anchored at Pearl Harbor. What a horrible few days. No news of him. Always the hope that he had been on shore leave. Finally, the dreaded telegram, ‘We regret to inform you …’ His marriage was revealed. Grampa [Joe Barker] took to his bed. There was shock and overwhelming sadness. How can I describe those horrible days? Finally, with no hope, a memorial service with the picture of my handsome uncle on the altar. He was only 20 years old.”
