Oscar R Barney

On an early morning in the Spring 0f 1922,Oscar Ray Barney, Jr. was born in a farm house, north of the railroad at Murray's Crossroads, six miles north of Ellaville, Georgia. He joined his sister Jewel. His father, Pop, had migrated from Greene County, Pennsylvania where his father, Jesse had farmed. Jesse found the soil rich and prices for acreage attractive. Pop served in the United States Army on the Mexican border then went to France as the United States entered World War I.

After the war Pop attended the University of Georgia's agricultural college. Pop moved his family to Lemon City, Florida, now part of West Palm Beach, where he established a dairy.

Upon learning of an opportunity with the United States Post Office, Pop moved the family to Atlanta where he became the chief accountant. During this period, Dad's grandmother, Effie Mae Daniel joined the Atlanta Journal where she covered sports, especially baseball as the first female staff member.

Dad asked that his parents be recognized as loving and supportive throughout his life. Dad was on the football team and in the band at Boys High School in Atlanta. At seventeen he met requirements for a pilot's license. As World War II and the Pearl Harbor attack occurred, his parents did not want him to join the Marines along with his friends. In early 1942 he was drafted and became a part of the Army's 99th Division. Once the Army discovered that he could fly he was sent to navigation school. Pilot training had a long line waiting for school.

The 99th was overrun in the Battle of the Bulge. He and his crew flew a B-17G with the 8th Air Force's 487th Bombardment Group out of Lavenham, England.

Among Dad's stories were two that reveal much about times past. Once he received his commission as a second lieutenant, he bought a Lincoln Zephyr Coupe (12 cylinders!). He and Pop had gone to visit relatives in Pennsylvania. They were happily roaring down a state road when interrupted by police. The officer asked for his pilot's license. Dad produced it. Seeing Dad’s uniform, the officer waved him off. The other story occurred early morning, May 8, 1945, in the air over France. Dad and his crew heard news of Nazi Germany's surrender! They decided to fly across to Paris and buzz the Eiffel Tower. Dad can still see and describe the scene of celebratory crowds on the Champs-Elysee.

He had a very busy career: the Berlin Airlift, the Korean War (flying b-26 reconnaissance missions), while in Turkey launching NATO, Gary Powers’ U-2 shot down, the Berlin Wall, a Turkish Army led coup. Leaving Turkey in late 1962, our family went to California and Vandenberg Air Force Base where he was a missile officer...the Cuban Missile Crisis, and training in the astronaut program. Two years later in 1964 he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. He was ready to return home to Georgia. There he taught math and electronics at his former high school. Soon he earned a Master of Arts degree in counseling from the University of Georgia. Twenty years later he retired from Vocational Rehabilitation.

On March 21, 1988, Mom died. She was the loyal, loving, supporting military wife. While stationed at McChord Air Force Base in Washington from where his squadron flew troops and supplies the early months of the Korean War, One morning as he prepared for another Pacific crossing, he was surprised by Mom's appearance with a large package of fried chicken she had prepared for Dad and the crew. Mom was like that. She is a saint.

Later in 1988, Dad married Eleanor Blackwell. Eleanor was a neighbor and a friend of our family for years. The pair made a good match. On December 14, 2019, Eleanor passed.

Earlier Paul Dennis Barney passed on April 7, 2009 (born February 1952, Hope, Spring, Matthew). Peggy Louise Smith passed on February 5, 2015 (born August 14, 1950, Jenny, Joshua). Survivors include Dad's youngest, Susan Lynn (born August 23, 1953), his oldest, John Ray (born August 21, 1948), Jean Martha (wife), Sarah Elisabeth Fletcher (Paul Fletcher), Wesley Thomas Barney (Bonnie and three sons: Wyatt Thomas, Jesse Ray and Logan William)

Our family’s story runs deep, from Scotland’s River Spey to Pennsylvania’s Ohio River, to Georgia’s Savannah River. All stories converge in rivers.

A visitation for Oscar will be held Wednesday, March 26, 2025 from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Elliott Sons Funeral Home, 4255 Columbia Rd, Martinez, Georgia 30907. A graveside service will occur Thursday, March 27, 2025 at 11:00 AM at Bellevue Memorial Gardens, 4501 Wrightsboro Road, Grovetown, GA.