Loyd Ray Barnes
U.S. Army National Guard 1954 – 1991
Loyd Ray Barnes was born on March 15, 1935, and enlisted in the Army National Guard on April 1, 1954. He completed boot camp at Fort McClellan, Alabama, before returning home to Tennessee to serve his state. Although most of his service time was uneventful, he was a witness to history on several occasions. His unit was one of several that was called up to go to Memphis in 1968 during the now famous “I AM A MAN” sanitation strike which began in February 1968 and the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King two months later. In July 1978, the Tennessee National Guard was once again deployed to Memphis along with U.S. Forestry Service firefighters, because the Memphis Fire Department had gone on strike. The walk-out only lasted four days and was resolved through mediation; however, more problems were to come. When the Police Department went on strike in the middle of August, the Fire Department walked out in solitude with the Police; and the National Guard was once again Memphis’ first line of defense against crime and fire.
Loyd traveled to places other than Memphis. He attended training at facilities including Camp Stewart, Georgia; Camp Shelby, Mississippi; Milan, Tennessee; and Camp Ripley in Little Falls, Minnesota.
Loyd’s last major deployment was not because of a strike but because of an infrastructure failure – the April 1, 1989, collapse of the Hatchie River Bridge on northbound Highway 51 at the Tipton County/Lauderdale County line. At the time, it was the third-worst bridge collapse in U.S. history.
On June 2, 1991, Sergeant Loyd Barnes was transferred to the Army’s Retired Reserve list. On March 15, 1997, he officially retired. He served the state of Tennessee and our great nation and stood ready to serve for 43 years. He earned numerous awards for his service to our state and nation, including the Army National Guard Service Ribbon and four Army National Guard Achievement medals.
Loyd was nominated for Veteran of the Month by his loving daughter, Amanda Barnes.
Pictured is (left) Loyd and his twin brother Floyd Barnes (1937-1991), both of who served in the Tennessee National Guard.