Scope and Contents

One folder of articles and poetry document James N. (Jim) Barker's military service in Kontum, 1971-1972, as an Army advisor and linguist with MACV; and later as a counselor at a VA Hospital in Palo Alto, California.

Biographical / Historical

James N. Barker was born in Des Moines, Iowa in 1946. He voluntarily entered service with the U.S. Army Security Agency in July 1969. Barker served three years in the Army, ten months of which were in Vietnam (October 1971- July 1972). In the fall of 1971, he served with the 330th Radio Research Field Station (330th RRFS) at Nha Trang as a Sergeant and linguist (05B21VN), and then with the 23rd DARRS team, Ban Me Thuot, through July 1972, where he was named Acting Captain from March-June during the siege of Kon Tum City in the Central Highlands. He was active in the Spring Offensive of 1972 where he served as Advisor/Linguist to the Vietnamese Intelligence Team based in Kon Tum City (Pleiku Province, II Corps). Barker was awarded the Bronze Star, the Cross of Gallantry, the Good Conduct Medal, and several campaign medals.

After his discharge in August 1972, Jim Barker finished his undergraduate studies at Boise State University and graduate studies at the University of Hawaii. He was a senior staff member at the VA in Palo Alto, California and Director of the Indochinese Mental Health Project in San Jose, California. He was a qualifier for the Olympic Trials Marathon and continued to participate in marathons, including several veterans' marathons in Vietnam. He taught Vietnamese language, and has supported the Vietnamese by donating medical supplies to clinics and hospitals in the Central Highlands. He is a member of the Vietnam Veterans of American (VVA) Chapter 201 in San Jose.