JOHN G. BARNETT, JR.
The Army’s Youngest Field Grade Officer
As a young boy, John Barnett grew up without a father after the age of eight in the darkest days of the Great Depression in Dublin. As a young man, Barnett grew up in hurry as a member of the United States Army. In the short time of nearly four years, Barnett, who enlisted as a private, was promoted to the rank of major, making him the United States Army’s youngest Executive Officer at the age of 21.
John Green Barnett, Jr. was born on August 30, 1922 as the only child of his parents John Green Barnett, Sr., a blacksmith, and Mary Spruce Barnett, a homemaker. The Barnetts lived on East Jackson Street and later at 108 North Washington Street.
John attended school in Dublin at Johnson Street Elementary School, where he rarely missed a day of school and at Dublin High School, where he was the secretary of his senior class. John Barnett, named as the most intelligent member of the senior class, graduated from Dublin High at the young age of 16 in 1939.
Barnett, who turned 17 three days before the official start of the Allies’ entrance into World War II, was anxious to serve his country. Not quite old enough to join the local company of the 121st Infantry Georgia National Guard, this five-foot, four-inch, 130-pound, newspaper boy set his sights on several military academies. Although John knew he wanted to serve his country, he also knew that the continuing his education was paramount to waiting to become an adult. Barnett was an honor student at Middle Georgia College in his freshman year.
At the end of his first year at Middle Georgia, Barnett applied for and was granted permission to take a test to be accepted into the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. One of only nineteen Georgia boys selected to take the exam to be admitted to the Coast Guard Academy. In preparation for his career in the army, John attended the West Point Prep School.
In September, 1940, ten days after his 18th birthday, John Barnett enlisted as private in the Field Artillery of the United States Army at Fort McPherson in Southeast Atlanta.
Barnett entered the Field Artillery Officer Candidate School and graduated in 1942 as a 2nd lieutenant and was assigned to Camp Adair, Oregon.
In early 1943, Barnett aided in the formation of the 69th Infantry Division at Camp Shelby, Mississippi and was assigned as Battery Commander of a 105mm howitzer unit and promoted to captain at age 20 as commander of Battery B of the 880th Field Artillery Battalion.
Six weeks after D-Day, Captain Barnett, age 21, was appointed as Acting Battalion Executive Officer of the 880th Field Artillery Regiment in the absence of Major G.W. Landis. The brevet promotion carried an elevation in rank to Major, making Barnett the youngest executive officer in the Army.
The 880th Field Artillery Battalion, under the Command of Lt. Col Landis, left Camp Kilmer, Jersey for South Hampton, England aboard the S.S. LeJeune in November of 1944
The battalion landed on the beach at Le Havre, France on January 23, 1945 and immediately entered combat in the Battle of the Bulge just as it ended.
The 69th Infantry Division breached the Siegfried Line, entered into Germany and assisted in capturing the Remagen Bridge over the Rhine River in March of 1945. The 69th fought through Central Germany, captured Leipzig in April and moved to the Elbe River where it became the first division to meet the Russian Army, thus ending the war in Europe. For his acts of heroism, Captain Barnett was awarded two bronze stars.
In his freshman year at Georgia Tech, the 24-year-old Barnett was promoted back to Major of the Field Artillery Reserve.
Barnett graduated in 1948 with a BS Degree in Industrial Management. Mr. Barnett served the Department of Electrical Engineering as assistant director for 22 years, until his retirement in 1984.
In 1947, John married Patricia Ridley of McRae, Georgia. They were blessed with five children: John He predeceased his wife Patricia, son John III, and son James Barnett and survived by his children, Alice, Alan, and Jefferson and his four grandchildren: John IV, Bryan, Bradley and Olivia Barnett.
John Barnett died on February 9, 2016 at the age of 93. He is buried beside his wife in the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton, Georgia.
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