Latest news with #JoeBarna
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Cpl. Barna, 95, urges all Americans to proudly display the American flag
Jun. 12—FREELAND — U.S. Marine Corps veteran Joe Barna this week said the American flag is a symbol for what so many real Americans have fought and died for. "Why else would they give up their life?" Barna asked. Flag Day — Saturday, June 14 — is the day we honor our national flag. The holiday commemorates the date in 1777 when the United States approved the design. Cpl. Joe Barna, 95 of Freeland, is a Purple Heart recipient who fought in the Korean War. He offered his thoughts on the importance of Flag Day. Barna, as he does every year, placed American flags on the graves of veterans buried in several cemeteries in Freeland — St. Ann's Cemetery, St. John's Cemetery, St. Michael's Cemetery and St. Casimir's Cemetery. Barna places the flags with the assistance of the Freeland VFW and Freeland American Legion. "I consider Flag Day a sister to Memorial Day," Barna said. "Think of it as the mother-day of all those flags that were placed over all our veterans — veterans who now sleep in the cemeteries all over America and many foreign countries." Barna, an award-winning writer, puts things in perspective when the topic is patriotism and veterans. "How many Americans really know the pride, honor, love, courage, duty and sacrifice for which our flag stands?" Barna asked. "Every veteran who fought and died for our country feels this pride and will die with it. After their final moments of life, an American flag will be draped over their coffin." Barna said if you walk among the many flags in almost any cemetery, don't just look at each flag. "Try to feel the pain that that boy — who never became a man — felt when the bullet struck his body, or the pieces of shrapnel tore into him," Barna said. "Share his pain." Barna stressed the importance the flag plays. "A flag tells you what a country is," Barna said. "What I have personally seen were brothers dying for brothers. And for a love that we call 'Old Glory.' It stands high in every battle that young people fight and die." Barna said the American flag distinctly has 13 stripes and 50 stars and it's red, white and blue. He said it appears on every military uniform and on every ship, plane, tank and vehicle. "It gives our troops courage and hope," Barna said. "Look at the flag and try to feel what it stands for." Barna said he still has a South Korean flag that the Korean people gave him — it still reminds him of the 24-hour battles the seemed to last for weeks; the minus-30 degrees in winter and the 120 degrees in summer; the crying of the wounded and the silence of the dead. "In Korea, memories were burned into my brain that will never go away," Barna said. Barna said he recently spoke with a Marine who fought alongside him 74 years ago. "He learned of my experiences through a Korean War website, found my number and called me on the phone," Barna said. "We were in the same battles those many years ago. We went to Korea on the same ship and returned on the same ship 13 months later. We returned with the same bodies, but changed. We never forgot each other. The Marine's name is Jim Barnett and he lives in Oregon. We have the same memories." Barna said he wonders how Americans would feel if what happened to the people of South Korea happened to them? "Look at our flag and be glad this doesn't happen to us," Barna said. "Our flag is not a colored piece of cloth. It stands for so many young men who gave up their life for it." Barna said as you walk through a cemetery, stop and look at our flag in a flag holder. The flag holder will tell you which of our wars this veteran fought in. The stone will tell you the date he was born and the day he died. "You will be surprised to see some of the ages won't be much more than 20 to 25 years old," Barna said. "Many never got the chance to marry his sweetheart, hold a baby in his arms or eventually become a grandfather." Barna said when you watch veterans fold the flag and present it to a family member at a funeral, think of the story that each fold tells. "These stories are about young men who are proud to be called American veterans," Barna said. "Try to feel what the boy felt when a bullet entered his body or shell fragments tore through him. I don't believe many could look at someone when this happens. The best friend I ever had, died when 18 pieces of hot metal entered his body from an exploding shell. I wish I could have shared some of that pain. That boy became my guardian angel and I know he's watching over me — 74 years ago, he found me as I laid wounded and bleeding. He said 'Corporal, God doesn't want you yet.' "I think he recently sent me an email saying, 'He still doesn't want you, you have more work to do.' But someday, I hope I earned the right to be covered with an American flag." Barna said the American flag should always be flown high and proud. Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Bill OBoyle: Never forget our fallen heroes
May 25—WILKES-BARRE — On Memorial Day, we remember and honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. They are all our most cherished heroes. My friend, Korean War veteran Joe Barna, 96, of Freeland, has two Purple Hearts and he knows and respects all veterans who have gone to battle. He especially holds dearest to his heart those who gave their lives for us. Mr. Barna said he made it back home and he sometimes wonders, "How?" "I look at my body and I still have two arms and two legs." he said. "I still have the same head, but it is full of memories." Mr. Barna says trying to describe war is not easy. "You have to live it, not read about it," he said. "You have to hear it, smell it, feel it. The scars come from bullets, shells, bayonets and the weather. There are other scars too — the scars you can't see. Scars in the minds of those who spent over a year in hell. They brought these demons home with them" Mr. Barna says combat is an ugly word and holds many memories for those who survive it. "For a while you tell yourself you're OK, but then something triggers a memory and you are brought back to those moments as if they are happening again," he said. Mr. Barna said Memorial Day is not a day to celebrate, but to remember and to continue to give honor to all the Americans who fought and died for a country they believed in. "Today should be about all our veterans and flags in our cemeteries," Mr. Barna said. "The flags show everyone where our heroes now sleep under a blanket of grass. In war, many young men, who are really just getting over being called a boy, will fight, and some will die. They will not get a chance to pick where he will fight nor will they get the chance to choose how they may die. God will take many of them too soon." Mr. Barna said he was 11 years old when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941. "I remember it was a Sunday morning and we heard on the radio that Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor," he recalled. "I was at my uncle's bowling alley. I did not know what these words meant, but I was soon to learn the full meaning. Over the next several years, I would see my town's young men, only a few years older than I, come home in flag-draped coffins. This war would last until 1945. In Washington D.C., there was a World War II monument. At the monument there is a wall that holds 4,048 gold stars. Each star represents 100 American dead. That adds up to 404,800 American lives." Mr. Barna then talked about "his war" — Korea — "a war where our thousands fought over a million North Korean and Chinese soldiers." The Korean War lasted 3 years — more than 36,000 Americans died. "In Washington D.C., 19 larger-than-life, sculpted figures of soldiers, Marines and a Navy Corpsman endlessly patrol along side a dark, reflective marble wall. On the wall, are more images of the war. These haunting images are almost calling to the marching men. I can almost hear them." And the third war Mr. Barna spoke of was Vietnam. "Again young men were called to carry a weapon and to kill an enemy. Upon another long wall in Washington D.C., lies 58,000 names of service men and women who gave their lives. "When I visit a local cemetery, I stop and read many of the stones," Mr. Barna said. "On these is a birth date, a date of death and a name inscribed in between. Think about it — between the dates is the story of a life. "This is what Memorial Day is." So on this Memorial Day, try to think about what it must have felt like for all those soldiers who fought in all those battles in all those wars. Think of what it must have felt like to know that you may never return to your country, to your hometown, to your loved ones — to your "life." That you may never marry, have children, hold a job, buy a new car or have a beer with your pals at the local bar. Think about going to battle realizing that this day — this moment — might be your last day alive — that your next breath may be your last. That you may give your life for your country and all Americans back home. This is what these soldiers did — and they did it without question. And far too many gave the ultimate sacrifice They are who we remember on Memorial Day. We remember them for what they did for us and we thank them — we pray for them. Our fallen heroes. Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
