Thomas G. Barry (October 14, 1911–July 11, 1943)

Medical Detachment, 10th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division

By Danielle Parker and Isabella Love

Early Life

Thomas Grady Barry was born on October 14, 1911, in Pinehill, GA to Thomas Van Barry and Mattie Claude Shell Barry.¹ Thomas Barry Sr. was born in Vienna, GA on November 28, 1889.² Mattie Shell was born in 1892 and lived in Georgia with her family in 1900.³ Mattie’s father, Andrew, worked at a sawmill alongside her brother William (1887).⁴ Mattie and Thomas Sr. married on September 29, 1909, in Dooly County, GA.⁵ By 1910, they lived in Georgia next door to Thomas Sr.’s family and worked on a farm.⁶ They had their first daughter, Minnie, in 1910, followed by Thomas Jr. in 1911. Thomas had two more siblings: Donald (1914) and Charles (1916).⁷ In 1917, Thomas Sr. registered for the World War I draft. He worked as a farm overseer to support his family and being the family’s sole income provider, led him to claim an exemption from being drafted.⁸

During the Great War, farmers who grew staple crops such as wheat, corn, potatoes, and cotton, prospered. After the war, however, prices fell dramatically. Additionally, a devastating insect known as the boll weevil demolished cotton crops in Georgia, and in 1925 the state faced one of the worst droughts of the 20th century. Between 1920 and 1925 the farming population of Georgia declined significantly by almost 60,000 farms.⁹ Although large landowners rode out the Great Depression following the market crash of 1929, it crushed smaller farmers like the Barry family. Almost seventy percent of Georgia’s population in 1930 was rural. The economic cruelty of the 1930s to farmers forced many of them to abandon their farms.¹⁰ Consequently, by 1930 Thomas’ father moved his family to Charlotte County, FL and worked as a night watchman at a tourist hotel.¹¹ His mother, Mattie, worked as a hotel manager, and Thomas worked as a solicitor in a dry cleaning store.¹² The participation of the Barry family in the workforce reflects the change in the economic conditions in 1930 showing how families adapted to harsh economic conditions by finding different ways to contribute to the family’s income. In addition to their occupations, the family also had three lodgers stay with them, a common way for families to make a little extra to help with the bills.¹³

Minnie Barry married John Dorn in 1930 when she was nineteen and the couple lived with the Barry family.¹⁴ They had a son named John around 1932.¹⁵ Unfortunately, tragedy struck in 1933 when Minnie passed away.¹⁶ That same year, Thomas Sr. and Mattie had their fifth child, a son named Wesley.¹⁷ On April 5, 1934, Thomas Jr. married Velma Gertrude Hambly in Charlotte County, FL.¹⁸ Velma was born in Whitman, MA in 1912 and by 1930 worked at a shoe factory.¹⁹ The couple had one daughter, Claudia, who may have been named after Thomas’ mother, Mattie Claude. They divorced by 1940.²⁰ At this time, Thomas worked as a hotel clerk, and he enlisted in the army on August 20, 1940.²¹ His two younger brothers, Donald and Charles, both registered for the WWII draft on October 16, 1940, in Punta Gorda, FL.²² Donald worked at the Black and White Grocery and Charles worked at a Paramount Club.²³

Military Service

Even though the US did not enter World War II until December 1941, the government recognized the need to grow the military. When war broke out in Europe in 1939, it immediately increased troop strength goals. In September of 1940, the government instituted a peacetime draft to help achieve its goal of a million strong Army.²⁴ Prior to the institution of the draft, Thomas volunteered for the Army’s Medical Department on August 20, 1940 in Columbus, OH.²⁵ At the time of his enlistment, Thomas weighed 127 pounds and stood sixty eight inches tall.²⁶ The duties of Army medics during the 1940s ranged from treating minor injuries to dealing with battle-related trauma.²⁷

After he completed his basic and medical training, Thomas joined 10th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division (ID).²⁸ The US Army activated the 5th ID at Fort McClellan, AL on October 16, 1939. In the years preceding US entry into World War II, the division moved around the country as it formed and trained its soldiers. Thomas likely joined the unit sometime before the 5th ID participated in the VII Corps Tennessee Maneuvers in spring of 1941. After further training throughout 1941 and early 1942, the 5th ID left New York for Iceland on April 22.²⁹

Because of its position in the North Atlantic, both the Allied and Axis Powers saw Iceland as a strategically important territory to occupy. At the time, Denmark ruled Iceland. When Germany invaded Denmark on April 9, 1940 and deposed its king, the fate of Iceland became uncertain. The British offered assistance, but the Icelandic parliament rejected help in favor of sovereignty. Over the next month, British leadership’s concern over Iceland grew and, despite Iceland’s wishes, British and Canadian forces invaded and occupied the island nation on May 10, 1940. After fourteen months of British occupation, an agreement between Iceland and the US allowed American troops to replace the British in July 1941. Much of the agreement rested on better treatment of Iceland's citizens and funding for infrastructure. Over the next year, thousands of American troops arrived on the island,³⁰ Thomas and the 5th ID arrived on Iceland on May 11, 1942 and assisted with that mission.³¹ Thomas’ unit courageously prevailed against unexpected German attacks, trained in severe and uncertain weather, built camps, and unloaded supplies from ships.³²

While performing his duties in Iceland, Thomas was admitted into the hospital. He received a spinal puncture. The doctors diagnosed him with pleurisy and empyema. They considered this a chronic situation.³³ Bacterial or viral infections may cause pleurisy and empyema, which then may cause the buildup of pus in the chest cavity.³⁴ Thomas Grady Barry died in Iceland in the line of duty on July 11, 1943 at the age of thirty one.

Legacy

SS Joseph V. Connolly pictured here in 1947 transported the first of American servicemen killed in the Europe theater home)

Thomas’ body was amongst those of 6,200 World War II servicemen transported to New York by the SS Joseph V. Connolly, seen here. Thousands of citizens gathered to honor these heroic men, for a funeral/memorial service. Following the ceremony, Thomas’ body was sent to Florida to rest.³⁵ Today, Thomas resides in the St. Augustine National Cemetery, Section D, Site 166.³⁶ After Thomas passed, the 5th ID left Iceland and traveled to England in August of 1943 to prepare for landingings in France in July 1944. The soldiers of the 5th ID fought through Europe and reached Germany in February 1945. After the war in Europe ended on May 8, 1945, the 5th ID returned to the US in July of 1945 and then to Camp Campbell, KY.³⁷

On May 31, 2021 the Port Charlotte Sun published an article titled "Remembering the Men from Charlotte County who Died in WWII"³⁸ honoring Thomas. Today, the 10th Infantry Regiment that Thomas was a part of has become a garrison regiment housing training cadre and trainees undergoing Basic Combat Training with the United States Army.³⁹

Thomas’ daughter, Claudia, married Richard M. Little in October 1956.⁴⁰ Richard was born in New York to Harry and Mildred Little. In 1950, his father worked as a land surveyor and his mother worked as a clerk for a brokerage company.⁴¹ In August 1953, Richard went to Fort Hood, TX, where he began his basic training as part of Combat Command B of the First Armored Division.⁴² He served for three years with the US Army at the time of their wedding. In 1994, the couple owned a massage therapy office in St. James City, FL.⁴³ In 1995, Richard opened an ergonomics consulting business called High Touch Ergonomics.⁴⁴

By 1950, Thomas’ brother Donald lived in Alabama with his wife, Agnes, and their daughter, Donna. He worked as a clerk in a retail store and his wife worked as a sales clerk.⁴⁵ His brother Charles served in WWII, like Thomas, as a sergeant in the US Army. He enlisted on January 7, 1942 and was discharged December 6, 1945.⁴⁶ By 1950, he lived with his wife, Imogene, and their son, Charles William Jr, as well as his wife’s parents. He was the salesman manager at a home furnishings store. Charles worked alongside his wife, who worked at the same store as a bookkeeper.⁴⁷ Thomas’ youngest brother, Wesley, went to Charlotte High School in Punta Gorda, FL with his cousin, John Dorn in 1950.⁴⁸ In February 1951, the Punta Gorda Chapter of the Order of DeMolay initiated Wesley into their chapter.⁴⁹ By 1959, much of the Barry family, including Donald, Charles, and Wesley, worked for King Furniture. Charles took on the role of manager, Donald worked as a salesman, and Wesley drove the furniture for deliveries.⁵⁰ Amongst his siblings, Thomas had five nieces or nephews and five great-grand nieces or nephews that live on to continue his legacy today.⁵¹

© 2024, University of Central Florida