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<em>Gregory Inman Barras</em> was born in Jackson, MS, the son of Joseph and Bessie Virginia Inman Barras. Greg graduated from Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, GA, and attended Millsaps College in Jackson, MS, and Virginia Military Institute before attending USMA in 1951.</p>
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Plebe year presented extra challenges for Greg, including breaking a leg in wrestling class and spending a few weeks in the hospital. While his leg was healing, he went home for his fathers funeral.</p>
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Greg’s leg was well enough by spring for him to play on the Plebe lacrosse team. A true son of the "deep south," Greg never became completely adjusted to West Point’s winters, though he did join the Ski Club. His interest in photography drew him to the Camera Club. Active with the Pistol and Skeet Clubs, he also joined the German Club. A no-nonsense person, Greg basically concentrated on being a good cadet. His previous military schooling taught him how to wear a uniform and look like a soldier. His initials—G.I.— seemed to fit well.</p>
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As Company B-l first sergeant Firstie year, he set high standards and may have seemed a stern taskmaster to underclassmen. He was, nonetheless, a warm and caring friend to classmates and colleagues. One classmate remembers, "He seemed to stand a little straighter and a little taller than the rest of us. He seemed to wear his hat a little different, yet the rules allowed little difference, and he marched with a swagger, ever so slight. He seemed to add something to the cadet uniform—military bearing. He had a flashing smile and a twinkle in his eyes that seemed to contrast with, but complement, his military bearing.</p>
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Graduating in 1955, Greg fulfilled his boyhood ambition by entering the Air Force. He met Mary Lucia Urban at Laredo, TX, while going through jet training there. They married in 1957 and went to Foster AFB, where he flew F-lOOs.</p>
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When Foster was being closed down, Greg was transferred to Amarillo, TX, for supply school and then to Carswell AFB near Ft. Worth. Although he joined the Air Force to fly, he learned a lot and drew great satisfaction from that assignment as a supply officer. Greg was next assigned as co-pilot of a B-52 crew and moved to Walker AFB at Roswell, NM, where he became an aircraft commander.</p>
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Daughter Ryan Elisabeth was born in 1958 in Ft. Worth. Their adopted son Richard was born in 1965 in New Mexico. After a move to Troy, NY, Greg earned a master’s degree in management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1967.</p>
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Greg’s next stop was at Hurlburt Field in Ft. Walton Beach, FL, for flight training in A-1Es. When his unit went overseas, Greg was diverted to ferry rebuilt planes from Rhode Island to California. As he left for Viet Nam in February 1968, he commented that if he had deployed with the Hurlburt unit, he then would have been close to finishing his Viet Nam tour.</p>
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Mary Lu and the children stayed in Laredo when Greg left for Viet Nam. As he left, he asked the children not to forget him. Some months later, he returned to his base, unaware that his plane had a large hole behind the cockpit. He then wrote letters to Mary Lu and each of the children, and sent them to her father, to be delivered in the event Greg did not return. Greg and Mary Lu enjoyed two weeks in Hawaii in August 1968, four months before his plane was to go down.</p>
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On 18 Dec 1968, Greg was flying a night combat mission along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the heavily traveled thoroughfare over which the North Vietnamese moved troops and materiel through the relative safety of neutral Laos. About 20 miles west of the Mu Gia Pass, Barras’s aircraft was hit by enemy fire and crashed. It was unknown at the time whether he had bailed out and somehow survived. Eyewitness pilots saw the explosion and, aided by flares, saw wreckage but no trace of survivors.</p>
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MAJ Gregory Barras was declared Missing In Action and carried on the active rolls until 17 Apr 1979, when he was pronounced "missing and presumed dead." By then, he had been promoted to colonel.</p>
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Mary Lu went back to college and earned her master’s degrees in library science and public affairs. Coming from three generations of Episcopal priests, she pursued a third master’s degree, in divinity. She was ordained in 1996 and assigned as vicar of Trinity Episcopal Church in Guthrie, OK.</p>
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In 1991, a Laotian from a nearby village led a recovery team to the crash site. Remains were recovered and returned to American custody, still unidentified. Not until December 1998 was identification verified through DNA comparison with one of Greg’s relatives.</p>
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Greg earned many awards and decorations for his service, including three Distinguished Flying Crosses, the Purple Heart (posthumously), the Air Medal with one Silver and two Bronze oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Combat Readiness Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, four Viet Nam Service Medals, two Air Force Longevity Service Awards, the Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon, the RVN Gallantry Cross with Palm, and the RVN Campaign Medal.</p>
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His family and six classmates were present when he, finally, was laid to rest at West Point on 30 Apr 1999. The band played "Army Blue" and the "Alma Mater," the Honor Guard fired their salute, the bugler played "Taps," Air Force jets flew the Missing Man formation overhead, and classmates proudly saluted their fallen friend.</p>
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Gregory Barras would never have claimed to be a hero, but a hero he surely was. A former roommate claims, "His alma mater had no more of a devoted or courageous son." Citing the lyrics to the old West Point song <em>Benny Havens,</em> G.I. Barras found his "soldier’s resting place" 30 years after receiving his "soldier’s blow."</p>
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May it be said, "Well done, Greg. Be thou at peace."</p>
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<em>Family, classmates and friends </em></p>