Decorations register · Notice Nearby
Official U.S. Marine Corps likeness already on the Korean War roll
William E. Barber
1919–2002
Captain (later Colonel)
Company F, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines; Toktong Pass, November–December 1950
Documented decorations
Purple Heart
two awards
First at Iwo Jima; second at Fox Hill. The Marine Corps History Division names both.
Public sources
Silver Star
Iwo Jima, February 22, 1945 — a distinct award, not an interim Korea medal.
Public sources
William Earl Barber’s official Marine Corps biography names the Medal of Honor, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit with Combat “V,” and two Purple Hearts. It does not name a Bronze Star Medal. The bronze stars on his campaign ribbons are service devices. This page will not promote them into a personal decoration.
The first Purple Heart and the Silver Star are Iwo Jima, February 1945: a wounded lieutenant who brought two Marines out of enemy ground. The second Purple Heart is Fox Hill in the Chosin withdrawal, where the Medal of Honor citation records that he stayed on a stretcher and kept the pass.
He is on the Korean War roll. The decorations row there follows the History Division list. We will not add a Bronze Star because an encyclopedia table once blurred a campaign star with the medal.
A longer service essay is on the American War Heroes roll. That page does not invent medals. This page does not replace it.
A publisher register — not a verification
This decorations register is publisher-curated from public records — Medal of Honor Society citations, published general orders, and official Army, Navy, and Marine Corps biographies. It is not a verified-veteran product. Notice Nearby does not certify service and does not issue badges.
A paid or unpaid memorial does not enroll anyone here. Checkout, VET50, and a family’s mention of service on an obituary are not applications to this list. We add a name only when a public official source names the decoration.
Claiming a decoration that was not awarded is stolen valor. It is a disrespect to those who earned the medal and, in some cases, a federal crime. This register will not invent an award to fill a page.
These pages are a historical register. They are not Legal Publication, not a newspaper notice, and not proof that a statute was satisfied.