LTC (R) Robert Barrow

LTC (R) Robert Barrow sat down with me for Heroes I Know.

He still had the school badge on. JROTC. Mobile. Over 20 years as an instructor after 22 and a half on active duty. He is a product of the program. He keeps a photo of his old instructor in the room.

1983. Young captain. Just promoted. Third of the Fourth Air Defense Artillery. 82nd. Lieutenant Colonel Jim Frederick had the battalion. Gunnery at McGregor. Vulcans. Stingers. Then Cattleman's.

Frederick used to lead an airborne operation inside the restaurant. Years later Barrow came back to Bragg as S3. Cardini got sick. They pulled him. Barrow was the senior major. Interim command. Gunnery again. He did it like Frederick. Tequila with Sergeant Major Wilbur Adams. They stacked 10 or 15 tables. Inboard seats. Outboard seats. Green light. About 50 paratroopers in a pile on the floor. A young captain went outside and tried to ride one of their horses.

He commanded Delta. Old Delta Dog. Jeff Underhill had it later. Shawn Lehr was a first sergeant when Barrow came back. They were not sure Cattleman's ever welcomed them again.

He lost a lieutenant he commissioned. Robert Sakorski. Infantry. IED. He thinks about that when he looks at the high school kids. About 1,700 Army JROTC programs. He says they only touch a handful. He takes that as a strategic problem. STEM camp on the college campus in Mobile. National Flight Academy. Mississippi State. Grandkids in the house.

He was counting months to December 2023. Then more time with those little guys.

He said serving with those paratroopers meant a hell of a lot. Leading when he had the chance. Being a teammate when he did not. That is why we hit record. Get the story on tape before we are too old or too sick to tell it.