World War II Honoree

Earle Grover Barlow

Branch of Service

U.S. Navy

Hometown

Boothbay, Maine

Honored By

Sarah Sherman Brewer

Relationship

Friend

Enlisted in the Navy on July 7, 1941, at the age of 17. He attended basic training in Newport, Rhode Island and then went on to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station (NTS). He was a Quartermaster on board the USS Argonne, which was a repair ship and on the USS Karnes APA-175, an attack transport. He served in the navigation department on both ships. His duties included steering the ship during battles and taking her in and out of port. While in the Navy, he served in California, Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji, New Hebrides, New Caledonia, the Philippines, Saipan, Okinawa, New Zealand, the Marshall and Gilbert Islands, Manus Island, Canton Island, Tinian and Palau. During the battle of Okinawa he watched from the decks of the USS Karnes, as tanks fought on the beach and Kamikaze planes dove into targets in the island. The USS Karnes was used to transport troops to the Pacific Theater and to bring the wounded back to the United States. He was discharged from the Navy at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on October 24, 1945 after serving 4 years, 3 months and 17 days. He was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Campaign Medal with one bronze star, the World War II Victory Medal and the Good Conduct Medal.