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FREELAND — For years, Korean War veteran Joe Barna said he couldn’t cry — not even during the saddest of moments in his life.

Barna, 89, told of an emotional encounter with a fellow Korean War U.S. Marine Corps veteran that moved him to tears.

It was such a moving experience, Barna wrote an essay about the encounter and how he can now, finally, cry tears.

The essay, appropriately titled “Tears,” was chosen as the National Gold Medal winning entry in the Veteran Administration Creative Arts Contest.

Barna was invited to attend the National Creative Arts Festival, held in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Oct 30 thru Nov 3., where he received his first place award — the best of regional winners from the 140 VA hospitals nationwide.

“The essay talks about the many years that I couldn’t cry,” Barna said. “It was tearing me up inside.”

From the essay

In the essay, Barna talks about how some people lose the ability to make tears from time to time.

“I speak of tears,” Barna wrote. “Tear is such a beautiful, simple word that shows love, compassion, remembrance and yes, sometimes pain. My first tear came the day I was born. I imagine I was lying in my mother’s arms; maybe I was looking up at my father, or the old-time doctor who delivered me. This day would be the first of many tearful days in my young life.”

Barna wrote that when I did something wrong as a child, or fell while playing, he was certain there were many tears flowing. Then, through his teenage years, as with most boys, the tears were kept inside.

Barna talked about tears he would see on other people’s faces — when he graduated from high school, entered the military, and at his wedding with his beautiful wife, Eleanore, who is still at his side.

“While I was at war, I know my mother must have shed many tears while I was away,” Barna wrote. “My family told me that when I was wounded, mom received a letter from the War Department. She wouldn’t open it, fearing that it would tell her that I had been killed. When she finally read it, she cried tears of joy learning that I was only wounded.”

Barna said when he was in Korea, he watched young boys fight and die.

“Although the tears didn’t come out, I know they were there inside me,” he said. “I remember seeing South Korean people — men, women, children, even old people — walking among the wounded and dead on a battlefield. They would carry the bodies, each taking an arm or leg. They would take the bodies down the mountain to the aid station. I would also see these same people going through garbage piles, looking for something to eat. Seeing this, I pictured my family in the same positions and I felt the tears well up in my eyes.”

Then Barna said he lost the urge to cry. He wondered if God had only given him a certain amount of tears and he had used up his allotment.

Barna said when he returned home from Korea, something was different.

“I had a mind full of the hell I lived through,: he said. “Something inside me was different and it was tearing me apart. As the years went by, I lost my grandmother, father, and youngest brother. Then I lost one of my daughters. God knows I wanted to cry, but I couldn’t. I begged for one tear to fall, but none came.”

The encounter

Then, Barna said a few years ago, he was at the VA Hospital for a doctor’s appointment. As he sat in the crowded waiting room, an African-American man was brought in on a wheelchair. Barna said the man was wearing a Marines cap and was covered in a blanket. Barna went over to talk to the man.

Barna said the man appeared to be about the same age, so he asked if had served in Korea, which he was. Barna then was called into his appointment. When he came out, he went to say goodbye to his new found comrade.

“The blanket was off and I saw that he was missing an arm and a leg,” Barna said. ” began to feel a little funny and sad because I had all of my limbs. As I was leaving him, he grabbed my hand and said to me, ‘Thank God you came home in one piece.’ I knelt down beside him and I pictured myself in that wheelchair. It was there and then that I filled with tears and started to cry. He did also, along with most of the people in that waiting room. It took a long time, but maybe it was written in heaven this way. I finally found out how beautiful it was to once again cry.”

Barna said it was then that he discovered that you should never be ashamed to shed a tear.

“When you do, it means you are human and have feelings toward others,” Barna said. “It is hard for me to tell you how it feels to not be able to cry.”

Barna has some advice for people going through the agonizing time of not being able to shed tears.

“Don’t give up,” he said. “It took a long time for me to find that special key to the vault that held my tears. Once I was able to cry, my life began to be what I wanted it to be. As I said earlier, tears mean love, caring and compassion. These things we should all share.”

A friend comments

Frankie Balon, 60 of Freeland, is a friend of Barna’s and knows him well. He said Barna is a proud Marine Corps combat veteran of some of the most terrible fighting in Korea.

Balon said Barna was part of Weapons Company and used all the weapons at the Marine Corps disposal, including the M1 Rifle, the BAR or Browning Automatic Rifle, rocket and mortar launchers, and perhaps one of the most feared weapons of modern times, the M2-2 flamethrower, which he carried for five months.

“Joe firmly believes in promoting the causes of all of our veterans and frequently writes and speaks about the common experiences of veterans in editorial letters and speaking engagements,” Balon said. “He writes the monthly column, “Veteran’s Journal,” in the Freeland area monthly newspaper ‘Progress Magazine.’ Joe was also honored to be one of the featured speakers on the Hazleton television station WLYN for a 90-minute special entitled ‘Korea: the Forgotten War,’ which first broadcast in November of 2015.”

For Memorial Day 2017, Balon said Barna was selected as Legionnaire of the Year by the Freeland American Legion Post 473.

Barna is an active member of the Freeland Post 5010 VFW, where he holds the office of Senior Vice Commander and the Freeland American Legion Post 473 Joint Military Honor Guard and he serves as a rifleman for military funerals and ceremonies.

Barna and his wife, Eleanore, have been married for 66 years. He and Eleanore have 3 children, 6 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandson.

Joseph Barna, 89, a Korean Conflict Veteran, won the National Gold Medal in the Veteran Administration Creative Arts Contest for his essay ‘Tears.’
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_tanto5_faaTONED.jpg.optimal.jpgJoseph Barna, 89, a Korean Conflict Veteran, won the National Gold Medal in the Veteran Administration Creative Arts Contest for his essay ‘Tears.’

By Bill O’Boyle

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Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.