WORLAND, Wyo. – Family, friends and military brothers and sisters gathered at the Worland Middle School auditorium Feb. 16 for a celebration of Sgt. Benjamin E. Barnes’ life and commemoration of his death. Barnes, a former Wyoming Army National Guard soldier, died Feb. 6 after a 19-month fight with cancer.
Pastor Larry Ramsfield opened in heartfelt prayer, and then proceeded to read Barnes’ eulogy.
The father of two was born in Thermopolis, Wyo., to Ed and Jeannine Barnes. His passions were hunting, fishing, four-wheeling, and pretty much anything outdoors. When he was just 12 years old, he shot his first bull elk.
While still in high school, he joined the Wyoming Army National Guard and completed basic training and advanced individual training before graduating in 2003.
Barnes was attending Northern Wyoming Community College when he was called to deploy with his unit, C Battery, 2nd Battalion, 300th Field Artillery, to Baghdad, Iraq, in 2004. His sister, Kristi Weir, said she was scared when he left for the Middle East and incredibly relieved when he came home safe.
“I admired him,” Kristi said of her brother. “He kept his humility, ornery attitude and positive outlook.”
She recalled that throughout the last year and a half battling cancer, the two only became closer. He mentored her as much as he could and even mustered enough energy to give his sister a short embrace on her wedding day last June. Kristi relayed some of the lessons Barnes had taught her – work smarter not harder and be aware that details matter.
After expressing how much Barnes will be missed, Kristi passed the microphone to her aunt, Michelle Alford, who spoke on behalf of Barnes’ parents.
“In honor of my son Ben, who has been a complete joy in my life. He had become far more of a man then I ever thought possible,” Alford read. “Not only was he my son, but my best friend and hunting partner. I am so proud to say that he was my son – he accomplished so much in his very short life.”
Alford spoke emotionally about Barnes’ mother’s love for her son and her admiration for how much he loved his family. Alford then gave the platform to a valued member in Barnes’ military family.
Sgt. 1st Class Durward Jones, Barnes’ former squad leader and platoon sergeant, turned off the mic and set it down. His voice, loud and clear, projected throughout the still room.
“I have been Ben’s sergeant for a long time,” began Jones. “He was one of those guys who I could ask to do something and he would do it without question.”
Jones relayed a story from C Battery’s deployment in 2004. It was a scary time, he said. They landed “boots on ground” only nine months after the initial invasion of Iraq. Despite being artillerymen, they were trained for this mission as military police. With an entirely foreign mission and being in a new leadership position, Jones expressed his relief that he had a group of good Soldiers under him.
“Fortunately, as a new squad leader, I had Ben Barnes as one of my soldiers,” said Jones. “A sergeant is only as good as his soldiers and Ben took care of his sergeant.”
Another fellow soldier and best friend of Barnes’, Staff Sgt. Brant Knight, confessed his difficulty over the past two weeks trying to write something about Barnes that did him justice. Instead, Knight decided to read a poem by an unknown author titled In Your Honor.
Choking back his own tears, Brant read the last lines of the tribute: “Freedom was the gift that you unselfishly gave. Pain and death was the price that you ultimately paid. Every day I give my utmost admiration to those who have fought to defend our nation.”
After almost 10 years of military service, Barnes was honorably discharged in 2010. Only three years later, on a solemn Saturday afternoon, full military honors, complete with the firing of three volleys by seven of his fellow soldiers, were presented in his memory. Jones and Sgt. Johnny Taylor folded a U.S. flag and Knight presented it to Barnes’ mother. To Knight, Jones and many others, Barnes was more than just a fellow soldier, he was their kin.
“As a (noncommissioned officer) I always try to instill a family relationship with my squad and platoon,” said Jones. “We were probably one of the few squads that always ate together in the chow hall. We did our best to maintain that family relationship throughout the whole deployment.”
Jones admitted Barnes wasn’t very big, he wasn’t the guy with the 300 physical training score nor swimming in achievement awards. Yet, if you were walking down the backstreets of Baghdad, he was the guy you wanted by your side. Barnes was a warrior through and through, on the battlefield and off, he said.
“(Ben) was just a shell towards the end but he never gave up,” Jones said with admiration. He was only 28, but in those 28 years (Ben) was able to touch so many people.”
Jones said he considered Barnes a close friend and soldier in high regard. Knight said Barnes was like a brother to him.
“He was my best friend, we did everything together,” said Knight. “We went hunting and fishing together and even went to the Bahamas after our first deployment together, but the happiest I ever saw him was when he was with his kids.”
“He was so strong, Ben is one of the strongest men I know,” Knight said. “We had a lot of hope that he would pull through."
"We were more than best friends,” said Knight with resolve. “We were brothers.”
Barnes was grateful for the presence of his family and friends, said Knight, but mostly cherished the time he had left with his children, Janie, 4, and Lane, 3. In the end, he wanted nothing more than to be surrounded by their faces. Fortunately, in the end, that's how he went.
Both Knight and Jones said it’s impossible to describe all that will be missed about Barnes, but they know he truly made a difference in the time he was given and didn’t go without a fight.
“He had paralysis on half of his body – the cancer ate his brain, the chemo ate his body but he fought to the end,” Jones said. “As a cowboy, as a warrior you want to go with your boots on and that’s how Barney went.”
| Date Taken: | 03.01.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 03.01.2013 17:48 |
| Story ID: | 102791 |
| Location: | WORLAND, WYOMING, US |
| Web Views: | 85 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Out with his boots on, by SGT Kelly Gary, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
