Remains of 3 brothers killed during Pearl Harbor attack identified

The Associated Press

1 day ago

The Barber Brothers, from left: Leroy, Malcom and Randolph. (DPAA)

NEW LONDON, Wis. — U.S. military officials announced Wednesday that the remains of three brothers from Wisconsin who were killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor have been identified.

Officials say 22-year-old Navy Fireman 1st Class Malcolm J. Barber, 21-year-old Navy Fireman 1st Class LeRoy K. Barber and 18-year-old Navy Fireman 2nd Class Randolph H. Barber were assigned to the USS Oklahoma in World War II. They grew up in New London.

The Oklahoma was moored at Ford Island when it was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. Officials say the ship sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. It resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen.

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Scott McFetridge, The Associated Press

The military said the brothers were accounted for on June 10, 2020.

The Navy ship USS Barber, launched in 1943, was named in their honor.

USS Barber (DE-161/APD-57), a Buckley-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy, was named in honor of brothers Malcolm, Randolph, and Leroy Barber who were all killed aboard the USS Oklahoma during the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. The ship was laid down in April 1943 and launched one month later, but because the Barber brothers' mother was not available on the day of launching, the ship was christened at the same time that she was commissioned in October 1943. After a year of service in the Atlantic escorting convoys and helping to sink German submarine U-488, Barber was converted to a Charles Lawrence-class high speed transport and assigned the new hull code of APD-57. After her conversion was complete in January 1945, Barber sailed for duty in the Pacific. After earning three battle stars for her wartime service, Barber was decommissioned in March 1946 and placed in reserve.

After 22 years of inactivity, Barber was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in November 1968, and transferred to the Mexican Navy the following February as ARM Coahuila (B07). In 1994, she was renamed ARM Vincente Guerrero after former Mexican president Vicente Guerrero. The ship was later restored to her original Mexican name of Coahuila with a new pennant number of E21, before she was stricken from the rolls of the Mexican Navy in July 2001. Her ultimate fate is unreported in secondary sources.