Remembering Arthur Patten Barrett Jr.
U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Claire Amdahl, who has family roots in Midcoast Maine, poses for a photo next to a memorial with the name of her first cousin twice removed, U.S. Navy Fireman First Class Arthur Patten Barrett Jr., at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial at Fort Bonifacio, Republic of the Philippines, in April.
Barrett was a U.S. Navy Fireman First Class aboard the USS De Haven (DD-469) when it was struck by three bombs from Japanese aircraft and sank off the coast of Savo Island, Solomon Islands, on Feb. 1, 1943. De Haven had been escorting ships in the southern Solomons to prevent the resupply of Japanese forces. In total, the ship suffered 167 killed and 38 injured; among them was Barrett, who was officially declared dead by the military on Apr. 2, 1944, and is still listed as missing in action. The wreck was discovered in 1992. The destroyer was built by Bath Iron Works and commissioned in September 1942.
Barret’s name is memorialized at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial at Fort Bonifacio, Republic of the Philippines. The premises include over 17,000 internments and 36,279 memorialized missing, more than any other World War I or World War II memorial. The American Battle Monument Commission establishes monuments throughout the world which commemorate the achievements and sacrifices of the Armed Forces in battle.
Amdahl is the daughter of Ellen Brown of Topsham and the late Ronald Hamilton of Brunswick. She is is the staff judge advocate for 3d Marine Expeditionary Brigade, III Marine Expeditionary Forces in Okinawa, Japan. (U.S. Marine Corps photo)