James Virden Barrett
PVT in 3132nd Signal Service Co : 2nd Platoon
ASN#12209973
Born 1923 in ND, Died 2007
County of residence at enlistment: Erie County, NY
Other residence(s): Arvilla, ND; Buffalo, NY; Holiday, FL; Bayonet Point, FL
United States Army, European Theatre of Operations
Occupation before the war: skilled pattern and model makers
Jim Barrett was born on October 24, 1923 in Larimore, ND; he was an only child born into a farm family. He and his parents were living with his paternal grandparents when he was a young child, but by 1940 they were living on their own in Arvilla, ND.
Jim graduated from high school in 1941. By the time he registered for the draft, on June 30, 1942, he was living in Buffalo, NY and working at Curtiss-Wright Corp* as a lofter. (Lofters created full-scale layouts to determine the exact, smooth curved lines of the fuselage, wings, and other components, ensuring that parts fit together accurately.) While the timeline isn’t entirely clear, family records show that he had taken a defense course in aeronautical drafting and engineering at the University of North Dakota. This was part of the government’s Engineering, Science, and Management War Training (ESMWT) Program, which was designed to rapidly train personnel in crucial defense fields. He enlisted in the Reserve Corps on December 8, 1942, and was called to active duty on March 29, 1943. At that time his occupation was defined as “skilled pattern and model maker.” He was eventually assigned to the 3132 Signal Service Company, and saw service with the unit during the war.
After he came home from Europe, he married Dorothy Schaefer on July 16, 1945; they had met in Buffalo. By 1950 he and Dorothy had two little girls: Nancy and Beverly, and her parents were living with them in Buffalo. Jim was working as a solderer in radiator manufacturing at Fedders, and also had a home business called Memory Metallizing Services. By 1952 he worked as a representative at Fedders. (Not clear if this was sales, service, or something else.) The Barretts became the parents of a third daughter, Colleen, in 1954.
By the mid-1950s, he had gone to work as a clerk at the Postal Transport Service, which is now part of the USPS logistics network. He would work for the postal service for at least 25 years, retiring and moving with his wife to Florida in 1981.
Dorothy died in 1986; Jim would live another 21 years, dying on September 21, 2007 in Bayonet Point, FL. He is buried at Meadowlawn Memorial Gardens in New Port Richey, FL.
*Curtiss-Wright was a major producer of military aircraft—they had begun producing airplanes (with the future war effort in mind) in Buffalo in May, 1941 at a 1.5 million square foot plant on a 34-acre piece of land. The plant was eventually demolished and the land became part of the Buffalo airport in 2000.
Sources:
1930 census
1940 census
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2442/records/99207405?tid=1017197&pid=6053624471&ssrc=pt
1942 draft card
1942 image of enlisted reserve corps ID
1942 enlistment record
1945 marriage record
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61632/records/5967440?tid=1017197&pid=6053624471&ssrc=pt
1948 Korean War era draft card
1950 census
1953 Buffalo NY city directory
1956 Buffalo NY city directory
1986 wife’s obituary in the Buffalo News (NY)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/876028424/?match=1&terms=james%20v%20barrett
1993 US public records index
2007 Find a Grave record
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52894979/james-v.-barrett
2007 VA death record
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2441/records/11923996?tid=1017197&pid=6053624471&ssrc=pt
2007 death notice in Tampa Bay Times (FL)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/330859548/?match=1&terms=james%20v%20barrett