COMMANDER ROBERT M. BARNES was awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism as Pilot of a Navy Patrol Bomber in Patrol Bombing Squadron ONE HUNDRED TWO in action against enemy Japanese forces on Marcus Island, May 9, 1945. Braving intense antiaircraft fire from fully alerted enemy defenses. Commander (then Lieutenant) Barnes pressed home a low-level attack on a hangar and shop area and, despite damage sustained on his own plane during the run, succeeded in scoring effective hits on the airfield and inflicting extensive damage on his assigned targets. His expert airmanship, courage and devotion to duty, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

Commander Barnes was a LIFE MEMBER and resided in Florida. He joined the L.O.V. in 1965.