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Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Wall/Plot Coordinates 66 6366
Military Service Number 71 483
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Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
Barry Atkins served in the Navy from June 1932 until placed on the retirement list on 1 November 1959.
Other Comments:
Navy Cross
Awarded for Actions During World War II
Service: Navy
Division: U.S.S. Melvin (DD-680)
General Orders: Commander 3d Amphibious Force: Serial 00394 (December 26, 1944)
Citation: The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Commander [then Lieutenant] Barry Kennedy Atkins (NSN: 0-71483), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Executive Officer of the Destroyer U.S.S. MELVIN (DD-680), in action against enemy Japanese forces at Surigao Strait during the Battle for Leyte Gulf in the Philippine Islands on the night of 24 - 25 October 1944. With United States Destroyer units deployed in a flanking maneuver as tactically disposed PT boats opened fire on a formidable column of Japanese battleships, cruisers and destroyers advancing under cover of darkness towards our waiting forces, Commander Adkins placed MELVIN in an advantageous striking position within close range of the enemy forces. Although silhouetted by the illumination of star shells, and under fire, he launched his torpedoes with precise timing in the first, sudden, coordinated attack, surprised the enemy and rendered him vulnerable to the smashing blows of our heavy Naval units. Subsequently retiring without damage from the furious engagement which resulted in the sinking of two Japanese battleships and three destroyers before effective return fire could be brought to bear upon our Task Force, Commander Atkins by his forceful leadership, professional ability and determination in the face of tremendous odds, contributed materially to the decisive defeat of the enemy force. His courage and devotion to duty throughout reflect the highest credit upon himself and the United States Naval Service.
World War II/Asiatic-Pacific Theater/Iwo Jima Operation
From Month/Year
February / 1945
To Month/Year
March / 1945
Description The Battle of Iwo Jima (19 February – 26 March 1945), or Operation Detachment, was a major battle in which the United States Armed Forces fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese Empire. The American invasion had the goal of capturing the entire island, including its three airfields (including South Field and Central Field), to provide a staging area for attacks on the Japanese main islands. This five-week battle comprised some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting of the War in the Pacific of World War II.
After the heavy losses incurred in the battle, the strategic value of the island became controversial. It was useless to the U.S. Army as a staging base and useless to the U.S. Navy as a fleet base. However, Navy SEABEES rebuilt the landing strips, which were used as emergency landing strips for USAAF B-29s.
The Imperial Japanese Army positions on the island were heavily fortified, with a dense network of bunkers, hidden artillery positions, and 18 km (11 mi) of underground tunnels. The Americans on the ground were supported by extensive naval artillery and complete air supremacy over Iwo Jima from the beginning of the battle by U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviators.
Iwo Jima was the only battle by the U.S. Marine Corps in which the Japanese combat deaths were thrice those of the Americans throughout the battle. Of the 22,000 Japanese soldiers on Iwo Jima at the beginning of the battle, only 216 were taken prisoner, some of whom were captured because they had been knocked unconscious or otherwise disabled. The majority of the remainder were killed in action, although it has been estimated that as many as 3,000 continued to resist within the various cave systems for many days afterwards, eventually succumbing to their injuries or surrendering weeks later.
Despite the bloody fighting and severe casualties on both sides, the Japanese defeat was assured from the start. Overwhelming American superiority in arms and numbers as well as complete control of air power — coupled with the impossibility of Japanese retreat or reinforcement — permitted no plausible circumstance in which the Americans could have lost the battle.
The battle was immortalized by Joe Rosenthal's photograph of the raising of the U.S. flag on top of the 166 m (545 ft) Mount Suribachi by five U.S. Marines and one U.S. Navy battlefield Hospital Corpsman. The photograph records the second flag-raising on the mountain, both of which took place on the fifth day of the 35-day battle. Rosenthal's photograph promptly became an indelible icon — of that battle, of that war in the Pacific, and of the Marine Corps itself — and has been widely reproduced.
