Richard 'Dick' A. Barth was born in Clarksburg WV, November 12, 1921. His family moved to Sarasota when he was 3 years old. Growing up in Sarasota was pure joy for him. Fishing was great and shrimp and scallops were plentiful. He enjoyed playing saxophone in the Sarasota High School Band and a student dance band. After graduation, he joined the Army Air Corp. in Aug., 1941 and graduated Advanced Flying School at Moody Field, Valdosta GA Sept. 1942 and started training flying B25 Mitchell Bombers. The B25 is the type aircraft used in the Jimmy Doolittle Tokyo raid. He was certified as a B25 pilot in the 50Ist Sq 345th Bomb Group and assigned a new B25D with a crew of 5. They flew that aircraft from Walterboro SC to Port Moresby New Guinea in the WWlI Pacific war zone. Refueling. Stops were: Dallas, TX, Tucson, AZ, San Francisco, CA, Hawaii, Christmas Island, Samoa, Fiji, New Caledonia, and Australia. The B25s were converted into Strafer-Bombers by adding 8 forward firing 50 cal. machine guns in the nose section and activated by the pilot who also controlled the bomb releasing. The crew was credited with I enemy aircraft shot down and the sinking of I large gun patrol craft.
Dick flew 60 missions, promoted to the rank of captain and awarded the Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters. He returned to the USA for reassignment D day 6/6/1944.
He was Squadron Commander in air bases in Lajunta CO, Bakersfield CA, Valdosta GA, and Columbia SC where D25s and A26s were used as tracking aircraft to train Ground Controlled Approach (GCA) radar landing system crews. GCA was a forerunner to the Air Traffic Control System used today.
After the war, Dick attended the Philadelphia Textile Institute and graduated in 1949. He was manager of a textile mill that made a heavy fabric to press the oil out of cotton seeds and other oil barring products. The mill also spun wool hand knitting yarns.
In 1955 he joined the Dupont Co. In the textile fibers department. He enjoyed his job working as a Technical Service Specialist in the industrial and apparel textile trade with mills using Dupont yarns. He retired from Dupont in December 1981 and moved back to Sarasota.
He was preceded by his wife Veronica 'Ronnie' after 55 years of happy marriage.
Survivors include son George of Charleston SC, daughter Margaret Larson of Crisfield MD and brother David of Clovis NM.
He was a member of the Sarasota Power and Sail Sq., VFW, and the Elks.
Toale Brothers are in charge of funeral arrangements.
Services will be Wednesday, 10/8/2014, 1:00PM with military honors at Sarasota National Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Sarasota Power and Sail Sq.