Oral History Interview with Dale Barker

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dale Barker. Barker joined the Marine Corps in May 1942 and received basic training at Parris Island. He received radio operator training for 15 months. Upon completion, he was assigned to the 1st Armored Amphibian Battalion as a communications chief. He participated in landings at Kwajalein, Guam, and Okinawa, primarily maintaining radio equipment in LVT(A)-1 and LVT(A)-4 amphibious tanks in combat. During rest periods at Guadalcanal and Saipan, he outfitted new tanks with radio equipment. Barker returned home and was discharged in November, 1945. He attended Georgia Tech on the GI Bill, originally pursuing electrical engineering. He took a liking to his job at the university library and eventually earned both a master’s degree and Ph.D. in library science. He compiled an anthology of reminiscences from men in his battalion entitled “Hitting the Beaches.” Six hundred eighty copies were distributed to battalion members and their families, and another 160 copies have been sold to non-members