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<em>Robert Baker</em> was born 17 February 1916 in Springfield, Illinois, the second son of Emily and Morton D. Barker. He enjoyed a secure and happy boyhood, being very popular and holding the respect of all who knew him. He thrived on sports and entered into all youthful activities. Educated in the public schools of Springfield, he went on to Cincinnati, Ohio to finish his secondary education. Bob Barker had a strong desire for military service and was thrilled to receive an appointment to the United States Military Academy.</p>
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Over 60 years have passed since Robert A. Barker left West Point to take up his first post at Plattsburgh Barracks. He had recently married Janet Tidmarsh. Shortly after, he was sent to work on the build-up of Fort Benning.</p>
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With the desire for a more stable family life, he misjudged his options and asked for service in the Philippines. Alter an idyllic but brief life in the Islands, war clouds gathered and his wife, along with others and their dependents, were returned to the United States. A few months later their only child, Emily Louise, was born.</p>
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Promoted to captain. Bob Barker took command of the Anti-Tank Company of the 31st infantry and prepared for the possibility of war. On 7 December 1941 the Japanese struck the Philippines, and, for over four months, he and his fellow defenders held off the numerically superior forces of the invaders. Finally, with supplies exhausted and no hope for reinforcements, the remaining U.S. troops were forced to surrender.</p>
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Bob Barker was one of those who endured the Bataan Death March and then entered into a life as a Japanese prisoner of war.</p>
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At great risk. Bob kept a secret diary from the start of his captivity until he was shipped out by the Japanese during the final days of the war, only to find a horrible death. His diary recounts the endless days of forced labor, hunger, disease, brutal treatment, and boredom suffered by the captured officers and men at the hands of their Japanese captors. There are flashes of humor, insights into character, kindness and generosity revealed among his fellow officers, many of them named. Always, he held the hope of rejoining his family and friends, but it was not to be. With the success of the returning U.S. troops at Leyte and Lingayen Gulf, the Japanese began to ship all able-bodied US prisoners to Japan. Bob, then in Bilibid, was one of them.</p>
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Over 1,060 men were forced into the dark and steaming holds of the <em>Oryoku Maru </em> to suffer three days of starvation, thirst, and near-suffocation. On 15 December 1944, the unmarked ship was attacked by US Navy planes at Subic Ray. Heavily damaged, the vessel was abandoned and, after enduring 12 days of unrelenting cruelty ashore, the survivors were reloaded into the holds of the <em>Enoura Maru</em> to continue the most horrible voyage in history. That ship, too, was destroyed by our forces while in the harbor at Takao, Formosa. Bob was one of the few survivors to once again continue aboard another hell ship, the <em>Brazil Maru</em>, bound for Moji, Japan. He was not to arrive.</p>
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Robert A. Barker, one month short of his 29th birthday, died 17 January 1945 from exhaustion and disease. He was buried at sea.</p>
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A classmate writes: “During his cadet days Bob was an “I” Company favorite of his classmates. He seemed to take in stride the challenges of plebe year, and, as an upperclassman, he handled academics and tactics with determination and relative ease. As a cadet. Bob is perhaps best remembered for his even disposition. A standout football player in high school, Bob was too light to play collegiate ball. His interest in sports, however, continued at the Academy. He was on the plebe hockey team, assistant manager of tennis in his yearling year and played on the goat football team his second class year. When I read Bob’s Philippine <em>Diary, </em>I suffered alongside with his trials as a prisoner of war, and I especially admired him for his courage and the strength he showed while being so harshly treated. Bob served his country with valor. He is a credit to the Academy and an inspiration to those who knew him so well.”</p>
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The <em>Philippine</em> <em>Diary </em>of Captain Robert A. Barker, 180 pages, hard-bound with many illustrations, has been published in a limited edition. Many events and numerous names of follow officers are mentioned. The original manuscript is in the Special Collections Section of the USMA Library, and copies are available from the Robert A. Barker Foundation, 180 East Pearson, Chicago, Illinois 60611.</p>
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Bob had earned the Silver Star and the Legion of Merit, but was never to realize the great future that would have been his. He remains with us, a shining memory, ever youthful, never to grow old</p>
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<em>His brother Paul Barker</em></p>