Robert Russell "Bear" Barnett

1933 - 2017

Captain Robert Russell "Bear" Barnett, U.S. Air Force, died in combat Thursday, April 7, 1966. He was returned with Honor 7 April, 2017. Captain Barnett will be repatriated with full military honors at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, Texas on Friday, April 7, at 11 a.m., 51 years after his plane crashed in Laos. Russell was a native of East Mountain, Texas, born Oct. 5, 1933, and raised by his parents Bob and Zelma Barnett. He graduated and played football at Gladewater High School. He received a BA from Baylor University, where he was an outstanding football player and in the Air Force ROTC. Baylor's mascot was the Baylor Bears and he soon picked up the nickname "Bear" from the other players. Russell was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in November of 1955 and took his pilot training at Hondo Air Base and Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas. He then served as a Pilot Instructor at Greenville Air Force Base in Mississippi for two years. During this period, he received his commission as a First Lieutenant. "Bear" became Russell's flight call sign. After duty at Greenville, he was stationed at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, as an instructor in Jet Qualifications Course, Base Operations and with the 3300 Support Squadron. "Bear" first went to Vietnam with a group dubbed "The Dirty Thirty" — a MAAG Group. He then joined the 8th Bombardment Squadron in Yokota, Japan. His next assignment was in the Philippines where he alternated assignment to Vietnam. He returned to the states for duty at Hill Air Force Base in Utah in January of 1965. A strong feeling of duty and patriotism called and he volunteered to return to the 8th Bombardment Squadron stationed in the Philippines with duty in Vietnam. On April 7, 1966, "Bear," a member of the 8th Bomb Squadron, was the pilot of a B-57B aircraft on a strike mission over Laos. "Bear" took off from Da Nang air base in the Republic of Vietnam in a B-57 classified combat mission. "Bear" was the second plane in a two-ship flight. After reaching their target, "Bear" made three dive-bombing attacks. On the fourth pass, the aircraft was shot at by hostile ground fire. The aircraft crashed into a mountain, disintegrated and burned. No parachutes were seen and the hostile threat in the area prevented a search and rescue or ground inspection of the site. Following the crash, Barnett was declared killed in action, non-recovered. His daughters were eleven and nine years old. In January and May 2005, a joint U.S./Laos People's Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) team visited the site of the crash. In late 2014 and early 2015, three excavations of the site were conducted, recovering possible human remains, life support items and material evidence. To identify Barnett's remains, scientists from the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency used circumstantial evidence and dental comparisons, which matched his records. It has been over 50 years and the effort for his recovery has been undeniably remarkable. Captain Barnett was remembered as an outstanding officer with great personal courage and devotion to duty. His awards and decorations include: Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart Air Medal with One Silver Oak Leaf Cluster and One Bronze Leaf Cluster, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal Air Force Longevity Service Award with One Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm and the Vietnam Campaign Medal. This long journey is a great tribute to our military who served and are never forgotten. The family of Capt. Barnett extends their gratitude to the National League of POW/MIA families, the U.S. Air Force, and the members of the recovery effort that have worked the last 10 years to make this accounting and identification possible. Survivors: Russell "Bear" Barnett is survived by his daughters, Donna D'Lynn Mims of San Antonio and Debra Coffey and her husband, Judge Daryl Coffey of Fort Worth; their mother, Bettye Sue Barnett Draker of San Antonio; granddaughter Amanda Martin and her husband, Sean, of Austin; grandson, Grant Montagne of Austin; sister, Janie Bartosiewicz and husband, Ted of Grand Prairie; and numerous nieces and nephews.