Korean War veteran remembers those lost at Pearl Harbor

FREELAND — Korean War veteran Joe Barna of Freeland says he has lost friends in all of our country’s wars — friends that can never be replaced.

Barna said people may read of Dec. 7, 1941 — the day Pearl Harbor was attacked — and they might not care.

“But to veterans, they feel the memories of all of their buddies who were killed when hundreds of Japanese planes swooped down on them, dropping bombs and firing machine guns,” Barna said. “Many ships were sunk and many Army, Navy, and Marines died on this day. One ship, the Arizona, still remains underwater in the harbor upside down containing more than 1,103 American Sailors and Marines.”

Barna, 93, is a Marine Corps veteran of the Korean War, and he has written several stories about his time in service to our country. He has won national awards from several organizations.

“I was 11 years old on Dec. 7, 1941, and more than 3,200 Americans died that morning,” Barna said.

Barna said it was a Sunday morning, people were going to church or reading their morning paper with a cup of coffee.

In Hawaii at the Pearl Harbor base there were many American military troops and most of the Pacific Navy.

Barna said all the ships were docked — aircraft were on the decks of the ships, or on their landing strips.

“I know exactly where I was when I heard over the radio that Japan had just bombed Pearl Harbor,” Barna said. “I was in a bowling alley.”

The bowling alley was owned by Barna’s uncle and he worked there part-time.

“To me, only 11 years old, I didn’t realize what this meant, but I would find out soon,” Barna said.

Barna said he got to know many who would soon leave home to go fight.

“One boy was my next door neighbor,” Barna said. “His name was Gene Muffler. He was 18 and just out of high school. I remember that Gene would let me watch him make model airplanes. He was born in Germany, one of the countries we would be fighting later in World War II. Gene would come home at age 19 in a flag draped box.”

Barna served in the Korean War from 1952 through 1953. He said he served with three Marines from Hawaii.

“One night we were sitting around talking and the Hawaiian boys told us of Dec. 7,” Barna recalled. “They were all about 8 years old when the attack happened. They said were playing on a field when they heard the roar of many airplanes. Looking up, they saw hundreds of planes in formation.

“Then the planes began to break off. Some came so close that the pilots could have waved at the people standing on the ground. They would go on to bomb the ships, the buildings, or some other target. Of these Hawaiian boys, two of them never left Korea alive. I’m proud to have served with them.”

After Pearl Harbor, Barna said the United States entered World War II. The Marines would be fighting Japanese all over the Pacific.

Barna said there were battles where hundreds or even thousands of young Marines would die on a piece of land in the Pacific Ocean — one of these battles was the infamous Iwo Jima.

Barna suggests that if you have the chance, go to Washington D.C. and see the world War II Memorial.

“Look at it and try to feel what it means,” Barna said. “There are 4,048 gold stars — each star stands for 100 American boys who died in World War II. Like the boy who never came home to fill the empty chair at that holiday meal. All his sporting gear will never be used again. The families have memories that will never go away.”

Barna said that every veteran he knows may not have been called a hero, but none were ever called a coward.

“Look at a veteran, think about what he wants for Christmas,” Barna said. “I’m sure the life he’s living now is the greatest gift he has ever received. But if that veteran is with God, go see him under that blanket of grass and remember him. Just say to them, ‘I never forgot you. Your chair will never be filled.’”

Barna said he took a vow entering the military that he would defend all those who cannot.

“I’ll never consider myself a hero, only a survivor,” Barna said. “I’ve never broken that belief. How many children were never born — their would-be fathers lost in war?” Barna said.