Joseph A. Barry

Joseph A. Barry, from Trenton, New Jersey, served on board the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid (CV-11) during World War II. He is listed on the muster roll as part of the ship's commissioning crew on August 16, 1943 and was detached on January 15, 1946.

Barry attained the rating of radioman first class, RM1. On board Intrepid, he worked in the radio shack in the island, translating Morse code messages into English. He also experienced the torpedo attack at Truk and multiple kamikaze attacks. Barry recounted that he took down the radio message from Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal upon the surrender of Japan.

After his time in the Navy, Joseph Barry worked for, and eventually purchased, his uncle’s appliance repair business. The Intrepid Museum interviewed him for the oral history collection (OHP.013). He died in 2016.