Walk with a painter

December 7, 1941. I was slightly over three years old when the Japanese attacked our Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor igniting war with Japan and setting in motion a terrible conflict resulting in the loss of thousands of lives and forever grimly changing the lives of families left behind. My father’s family was among those affected. He was the eldest of seven children, five boys and two girls. They’re all gone now and this painting shown here is in honor of three of his brothers who served in WWll. It’s titled, “Three Brothers”: Edward, Army; Robert, Navy; Gilbert, Navy. Uncles Ed and “Gib” returned home safely at war’s end but Bobby went down with his destroyer, USS Barton DD599, during the naval battle of Guadalcanal. I’ve read two extensive accounts of what happened that fateful night of November 13, 1942 when the Barton, along with a dozen other U.S. warships were lost in brutal fighting as one officer called, “ a barroom brawl with all the lights out.” Two torpedoes from the Japanese destroyer Amatsukaza struck the Barton’s forward magazines splitting the ship in half. The stern sank immediately while the bow stayed afloat for ten minutes. Many were killed as depth charges went off in the water while shells from enemy ships also landed among the survivors. 175 men died in that action with 42 survivors. My dad never talked much about what happened to Uncle Bobby and it wasn’t until years later that I came across newspaper clippings and a copy of the telegram sent to my grandparents from the War Dept. telling them of their son being missing in action. Later on, I was intrigued to read that in 1992 an expedition team led by Dr. Robert Ballard located the Barton’s bow southeast of Savo Island, resting on her port side in more than 2000 feet of water. The stern section was not discovered. A grisly account to be sure but I hope it helps to serve as yet another reminder of what our honorable men and women endure during our constant struggle for freedom. Peace.