Zeddie P. Barron, Jr. papers

Zeddie P. Barron Jr. was born in Newnan, Georgia on November 4, 1911, and had a career as a store manager before joining the United States Army in 1943. He married Virginia Dixon Culbreath on January 14, 1940. Due to this administrative background, he was made an Induction Leader and entered technical school at Camp Lee. Barron was then moved to Fort Knox and entered the 552nd Railhead Company as a replacement. He was then shipped to Northern Ireland and made the crossing on the Monarch of Bermuda, or the "Showboat," so called because it carried the cast of Irving Berlin's "This is the Army." In May 1944 he was attached to the First Engineer Special Brigade Force U for the D-Day invasion and landed on D+3. He served in locations such as St. Marie du Mont, St. Mere Eglise, St. Lo, Soissons, Liege, Frankfurt, and Cassel.

It is likely that his company replaced the combat engineers from the First Engineer Special Brigade who were lost in Exercise Tiger, as he mentions that he had to replace trained combat engineers who were lost in an "attempted invasion or a dry run a few weeks before the invasion (D-Day)." Notably, Barron had no amphibious combat training prior to his involvement in the beach landing. By the time of his discharge, Barron had received what he called the "Sea-Horse" patch awarding his participation in an amphibious landing, the Croix de Guerre, Bronze Arrowhead, Good Conduct Ribbon, Meritorious Unit Commendation, a Presidential Unit Citation, and 5 Battle Stars.

After the war, Barron, Jr. entered Clemson University then returned to Rome, GA after graduating. He entered banking and was elected to the Board of Directors for the Citizens Federal Savings and Loan in 1960. He was named Director Emeritus of Citizens First Bank in 1992. Barron, Jr. passed away on April 30, 1993, in Rome, GA.

His letters describe his combat experiences, particularly involving German V-1 ("Buzz") Bombs, as well as his interactions with Irish, French, Belgian, and German civilians and prisoners of war. He also includes an opinion on African-American servicemen, the points system, and the use of the atomic bomb.