LeRoy Barber Is A Prisoner
Gunner’s Mate Had Been Reported Missing in Philippines
LeRoy F. Barber, 23-year-old son of Mrs. Nora Barber, 920 Wright Avenue, is a prisoner of the Japanese in the Philippine Islands.
Mrs. Barber was informed this week by the navy department that LeRoy, gunner’s mate, had fallen into Japanese hands Last May 6 she received a telegram saying that the young man was “missing in performing services of his country in the Manila Bay area.” It added that it would be several months before details would be available.
A letter February 4, 1942 was the last communication she received from her son. He had been serving at Pearl Harbor and in the Philippines and had been stationed for a time in China.
Gunner’s Mate Barber, a lifelong resident here, enlisted in the navy three years ago. He attended Central High School.
Source: The Sioux City Journal-Tribune, March 12, 1943
Name Iowa Men Held Prisoners
Navy, Was Department List Men of City and the Area
Washington -- The navy department announced Thursday the names of 1,044 United States Navy personnel, including six Iowans, held as prisoners of war by the Japanese, mostly in the Philippine Islands.
Iowans listed were:
LeRoy F. Barber, gunner’s mate, son of Mrs. Nora Barber, 920 Wright Avenue, Sioux City;
Milford Nielsen, yeoman, son of Mrs. Hattie Westphalen, Hartley;
John W. Reimer, Jr. aviation chief metalsmith, son of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Reimer, Sr., Havelock;
Steve M. Sorensen, chief boatswain’s mate, brother of Hans K. Sorensen, 123 S. Davidson Street, Sioux City;
Rudolph P. Steck, chief commissary steward, son of Mrs. Carrie Garber, 416 S. Lafayette Street, Sioux City;
William B. Westerberg, boilermaker, son of John A. Westerberg, Hinton.
Source: The Sioux City Journal, May 14, 1943
LeRoy Barber Is Liberated
Message Received Here Says His Health Impaired
LeRoy Barber, 26, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ned A. Barber, 920 Wright Avenue, has been liberated from a Japanese prison, according to a brief message from the war department which reached the parents Wednesday.
The dispatch states that young Barber is in poor health as the result of his imprisonment. He was a gunner mate, third class, on the cruiser Houston and was stationed at Cavite, a naval base in the Philippines, at the time of the fall of Corregidor. He was taken prisoner at that time.
Young Barber has been in the navy for nine years. He was born here and attended Riverview, West Junior and Central High School.
Source: The Sioux City Journal, September 27, 1945
Leroy Frederick Barber was born Mar. 20, 1919 to Edward and Nora Maynard Barber. He died Apr. 15, 1994.
Source: ancestry.com
