Thanking a D

Horace Barrett holds a regimental newspaper featuring a photo of him that was published August 7, 1945. Barrett was a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne and fought on D-Day.

Greetings,Tuesday. D-Day

The name didn't ring a bell. But a description of the man — or more specifically his service — certainly did.

Horace Barrett, a caller noted late last week. The Journal-Sentinel, the man said giving a hint to his age, usually runs an article around certain historic anniversaries. Pearl Harbor and D-Day, to name two.

"The last living member of the 82nd Airborne who dropped into France on D-Day is right here in Winston-Salem," he’d said.

The caller was — is — right. A quick look-see in the archives reminded me why.

I’d met Barrett a few days before Memorial Day. He was in his late 80s then. God willing, he’ll turn 100 on Dec. 7 — Pearl Harbor Day.

His service record is remarkable. He was awarded two Bronze Stars and four Purple Hearts for his actions in combat. He parachuted into Normandy with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne and fought in Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge.

("Always say ‘awarded,’" an older veteran intoned years ago. "Nobody ‘wins’ those. Nobody wants a Purple Heart. It's not bingo.")

And when he was finished, Barrett came home and began the rest of his life back in Winston-Salem.

Remarkable in how ordinary that transition was. Hundreds of thousands of GIs did likewise; the Greatest Generation.

There aren't many men like Horace Barrett left. He's the last surviving member of the 508th who jumped into history on the northern coast of France; he learned that when contacted by representatives of a military publication that comes out four times a year.

Barrett and another man, 102 years old, were all who remained with us. The other man, Barrett said Monday, passed away in 2022.

"I guess my (claim) is that I’ve been blessed with good health," he said.

Indeed, he still works out regularly and says that at 145 pounds, he's close to weighing the same as when he was a teenager in the ‘40s. "I got up to about 165 when I was in the Army," he said.

At the urging of his daughter, he wrote a book called "My Story: Every Soldier has a story" to preserve his memories. He's rightfully proud of his service but he doesn't share his memories in public often.

But when he does, they’re worth hearing - and remembering.

"We didn't know it when we went," said Barrett in 2011 of his friends in the 508th parachute regiment, "but we had front-row seats for history."

RALEIGH - Man, but do politicians love an acronym.

Gov. Roy Cooper, a career politician nearing the end of his second term, dusted off another this week unveiling something called NC SAFE - Secure All Firearms Effectively - an initiative to urge residents to safely store their guns.

It's a sad fact that too many do not.

Firearms are the leading cause of injury-related death among children and youth in North Carolina — more than car crashes but less than disease and illness.

Nationwide, 82 percent of all adolescent suicides by firearm involve the use of a gun belonging to a family member..

Oh, and the N.C. Department of Public Safety estimates that 20 percent of all youth car break-ins involve the theft of a gun.

Is it that hard to carry a pistol back into the house? If you can't remember where you stashed your 9-mm, should you be carrying one?

Gun slobs … the term fits. Don't be a gun slob.

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@scottsextonwsj

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