Serial # 6647389
Awarded the Navy Cross posthumously for action on Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll 20 November 1943.
"Attached to a rifle company during the action at Tarawa on November 20, 1943, Barker was seriously wounded while he was disembarking from an amphibious tractor on the strongly fortified Japanese beachhead. He refused medical attention and cared for his own wound. Undaunted by a constant hail of enemy machinegun and mortar fire, he administered first aid to wounded comrades on the beah in spite of his own intense pain. Barker was urged to seek protection in a nearby dugout with other casualties, but he remained at his post until he was mortally wounded by an enemy sniper. His gallant conduct and devotion to duty directly contributed to the saving of many lives."
Source: Capt. French R. Moore, "The Doctor at Guadalcanal and Tarawa", p. 235.
See the Bibliography for the full citation.
Awarded the Navy Cross for actions at Tarawa:
GENERAL ORDERS:
Commander in Chief, Pacific: Serial 917 (March 7, 1944)
CITATION:
"The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Pharmacist's Mate Second Class James Dudley Barker, United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism and conspicuous devotion to duty while serving as a Medical Corpsman with a Rifle Company of the First Battalion, Second Marines, SECOND Marine Division, during action against enemy Japanese forces at Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands, on 20 November 1943. Although wounded by enemy fire while disembarking from an amphibious tractor, Pharmacist's Mate Second Class Barker refused to go to an aid station, instead bandaging his own wound and commencing immediately to care for wounded men on the beach. With utter disregard for his own personal safety, he continuously treated the wounded, undaunted by the proximity of machine gun and rifle fire. He applied splints on a fallen comrade's leg on a beach swept by enemy machine guns. When urged to go to a protective dugout with the other wounded, he refused as long as there were men on the beach who needed medical attention, and although suffering pain, he continued to administer first aid with complete disregard for his own condition. By his devotion to duty he saved many lives on the beach before he was killed by an enemy sniper. His conduct was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service."
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Created 22 February 2002 - Updated 20 Janaury 2020
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