The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program is honored to announce the July 2017 story of the month has been selected to recognize the service of Electrician's Mate 2nd Class, Donald A. Barnes. The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program was privileged to interview Electrician's Mate 2nd Class, Donald A. Barnes at the USS Harwood Association Reunion in the fall of 2016 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania.   

Electrician's Mate 2nd Class Barnes entered  the United States Navy in July of 1963. Upon entering boot camp, he remarked, "I was 17 and it was pretty terrifying at the beginning, but I realized it was where I wanted to be to accomplish what I wanted to." He was sent to Electrician's Mate School and graduated first in his class. Upon graduation, he was ordered to the USS Harwood DD 861 in Florida. He recalled, “when I got aboard I was very proud to be a crew member and I knew I could do well." His first cruise would be a memorable one to Northern Europe and he would speak highly of his service on the USS Harwood. Barnes then requested a transfer to a ship homeported closer to his family in New England. His request was answered and he was ordered to report to the USS Davis DD 937.

The Davis was then ordered to report to Vietnam. Barnes recalled the mission of the Davis when she entered the waters of Vietnam. “We reported for duty off the coast of Vietnam. What we did there was plane guarding, operations supporting aircraft carriers, and also shore bombardment. We fired something like 6000 rounds in support of marines and army units that were within our gun range on shore.”

The interview began with Lieutenant Thomas Herritage sharing, “I was the OinC of this illustrious crew, I was privileged to be their Officer in Charge from March 1968 to March 1969.” The unique nature of this interview was that decades after serving together in Vietnam, these crew members were able to attend their reunion and share their service memories. Lt. Herritage led the interview by sharing, “starting in October of 1968 we were in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.” The crew shared their memories of  the November 13th, 1968 incident when the crew of PCF 94 captured a Viet Cong flag while delivering a PSYOPS team. Upon delivering the team and capturing the VC flag, a firefight ensued. The men of PCF 94 shared with vivid detail about taking fire and the aftermath of the conflict. The strong comradery of the crew has not wavered with time and remains are strong as the days they served together.

The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program honors, Electrician's Mate 2nd Class, Donald A. Barnes, featured within this series titled, Stories of Service, Story of the Month. Each month, this series honors a Veteran’s story recorded by the Stories of Service Program at the Navy Memorial. To learn more about this story and to explore the Navy Memorial archive, visit the Navy Memorial Stories of Service site at https://www.navymemorial.org/stories-of-service.