Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Ray Wehnes Barker (December 10, 1889 – June 28, 1974) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

officer of the Allied Forces, and served in the European Theater of Operations during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Barker was a key member of the combined United States-British group, which became known as COSSAC (Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander). This group planned the

Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

, codenamed "Operation Overlord", also known as D-Day, which liberated

Nazi-occupied France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

. He served as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the

European Theater The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with the ...

from 1943–1944, and Deputy Chief of Staff for

Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF th ...

(SHAEF).

Early and military professional life

Ray Barker was born in Elmira, New York and enlisted in the Army first serving with the 15th Cavalry from 1910 to 1913. He was commissioned as an officer in the cavalry in 1913, later participating in the

Punitive Expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong beh ...

into Mexico (

Pancho Villa Expedition The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, U.S. Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the p ...

) from 1916 to 1917. Thereafter, he transferred to the field artillery and accompanied the 13th Field Artillery to France in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He served in the Marne-Vesle and Meuse-Argonne offensives. In 1928, he graduated from the

Command and General Staff School The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

, and in 1940 from the Army War College. He was the commanding officer of 31st Field Artillery from June 1940 to April 1941. He commanded the 30th Field Artillery from June 1941 until April 1942. After promotion to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in July 1942, he later became the Deputy Chief of Staff of the

from 1943–1944, and Deputy Chief of Staff for

. He was promoted to major general in June 1943. In January 1946 he assumed command of the 78th Infantry Division, headquartered in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, succeeding Major General Edwin P. Parker Jr. He was commander supervising demilitarization of Germany until the deactivation of the 78th in May 1946 (see: commandants of Berlin American Zone). General Baker retired from the military in February 1947.

Contributions to Overlord

Two of Barker's notable actions in the Overlord planning involved maintaining American involvement when significant disagreements arose between Americans and British military planners, which could have resulted in withdrawal of America support for the operation. While Overlord was planned, the expected amount of enemy resistance after aerial and naval bombardment was unclear. Overlord initially stated the land invasion in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

could not succeed against more than twelve divisions of

enemy An enemy or a foe is an individual or a group that is considered as forcefully adverse or threatening. The concept of an enemy has been observed to be "basic for both individuals and communities". The term "enemy" serves the social function of d ...

troops; Barker predicted this would make the invasion unpalatable and risk American opposition. Barker's concern was correct and lead to opposition from the

Joint Chiefs The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and th ...

in America. After further discussion and clarifications from Barker, the America government's support was accomplished. Tensions between Americans and British governments again arose due to how involved a battlefield commander should be in such an invasion, particularly when a multi-national force is commanded by a single battlefield commander. Barker as the acting Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander, was able to solidify agreement between the countries of how this should be handled.

Decorations

His decorations included the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, and

Soldier's Medal The Soldier's Medal is an individual decoration of the United States Army. It was introduced as Section 11 of the Air Corps Act, passed by the Congress of the United States on July 2, 1926., Appendix 5, p. 126. The Army' Soldier's Medal is equiv ...

Negotiations

In 1945, Barker, as the

SHAEF Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF ...

Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel (G-1), was the officer responsible for recovery of Allied POWs. Between 16 and 22 May 1945, Major General Barker and Lieutenant General K.D. Golubev, representing the Soviet repatriation authority, met at Halle, Germany. The general principles agreed to at

Yalta Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Cri ...

provided the framework for the Halle discussions. With respect to the return of western

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

prisoners, the Halle meeting centered on working out the administrative details for the prompt release and return to

control of British and American POWs, using available air or motor transport. Despite the seemingly straightforward nature of this problem, the

Soviets Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Nationality policy in ...

prolonged the negotiations, citing practical and administrative obstacles and tying rapid release of American, British, and other

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

(POWs) to repatriation of all

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

prisoners and displaced persons in the West, many of whom did not want to return to the Soviet Union. The conferees finally reached agreement on a plan in the early morning hours of 22 May. They finalized delivery and reception points for each side, transportation plans, daily transit capacities of each of the reception-delivery points, and other details. Barker and Golubev signed the Halle Agreement on 22 May 1945. However, most Americans liberated by the Soviets in central Germany and along the

Baltic coast The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 10 ...

, had been exchanged by local arrangement prior to implementation of the Halle Agreement on 23 May.

Post army career – The Manlius School

After suffering a back injury, Barker was forced to retire. In the hospital he was visited regularly by Eisenhower including discussions of post-career options, where Eisenhower ultimately referred him to a position as a

headmaster A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...

. Barker served as the

The Manlius School ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

, an independent, non-sectarian, college-preparatory

military school A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

for boys in the town of

Manlius The gens Manlia () was one of the oldest and noblest patrician houses at Rome, from the earliest days of the Republic until imperial times. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Gnaeus Manlius Cincinnatus, consul in 480 BC, and for ...

Central New York Central New York is the central region of New York State, including the following counties and cities: With a population of about 773,606 (2009) and an area of , the region includes the Syracuse metropolitan area. Definitions The New York ...

. Barker served from 1946 until 1960. During this tenure, he accompanied retired general Lucius Clay on a trip to Berlin, Germany, for the dedication of that city's Liberty Bell on October 24, 1950. Upon his death in 1974 he was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

.Burial Detail: Barker, Ray W
– ANC Explorer

References

External links

*

Durston, Harry C., History of The Manlius School. 1966