Franklin unveils monument to fallen Medal of Honor recipient

FRANKLIN — Lance Corporal Jedh Colby Barker embodied courage, sacrifice and service. 

Barker enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in 1966, halfway through earning a degree from Northeast Missouri State Teachers College, now Truman State University, in Kirksville, Missouri. 

As a machine gunner for Company F, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 3rd Marine Division, on September 21, 1967, while on Operation Kingfisher in Con Thien, Vietnam, Barker was injured when his squad faced heavy enemy fire. Rather than retreat, Barker remained at his post to defend his squad. A shot to the hand left Barker unable to operate his machine gun, then suddenly a grenade landed in his squad's position. Barker jumped on the grenade, shielding his comrades from the blast. It didn’t kill him immediately, and Barker used his last moments and remaining strength to provide an injured comrade with first aid. Barker succumbed to his many wounds soon after – he was 22 years old. 

Susan Barker Rilliet, younger sister of the honored veteran, described him as “a very gregarious person who was so fun to be around.” She said she hopes he is remembered as a person who spoke out for what was right, a great sportsman and a principled person. 

Rilliet said her brother was protective of her and her twin sister and that he gave her comfort and strength: she could not watch a horror movie without his company. 

“I don’t like war, but I’m proud of him. What he did there was an illustration of who he was: a protector who stood up for what was right,” Rilliet said. 

Two years after his death, Lance Corporal Barker was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. His family accepted the award, presented by then-Vice President Spiro Agnew, on his behalf.

Barker had service in his bones: his older brother Warren and father were both career Marines and his younger brother John served in the United States Army. According to the Truman Review, Jedh’s father named him after four of his fellow soldiers in World War II: John, Ezekial, Donald and Herbert. 

On Memorial Day this year, Franklin honored Lance Corporal Barker, the only winner of the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam war from New Hampshire, by unveiling a memorial dedicated to him. 

Jedh Colby Barker was born in Franklin in 1945. Six years later, the Barkers and their six children moved to Park Ridge, New Jersey. Barker’s parents, Ruth and G. Colby Barker, returned to Franklin in their retirement and his brother John lived in Franklin for some time as well. Lance Corporal Barker is buried in Paramus, New Jersey.

Rilliet said that the loss of her brother was at first “incomprehensibly painful,” but that over time she has found joy in speaking about him on behalf of her family and that she is grateful for stories people share with her about him. 

Memorial Day is a very reflective time for Rilliet, not just about the loss of her brother but about the loss of veterans broadly. On the holiday, she said she feels connected to the pain, love and pride of other families who have lost loved ones. 

The new Lance Corporal Jedh C. Barker Memorial Monument is at the Franklin Veterans Memorial across from the High School.