A. B. Barber

Colonel Alvin Barton Barber (May 19, 1883 – September 16, 1961) headed the American Relief Administration in Poland from 1919 to 1922.^[1] He then worked for the United States Chamber of Commerce from 1923 to 1948.

Alvin Barton Barber
Born	(1883-05-19)May 19, 1883 Portland, Oregon, US
Died	September 16, 1961(1961-09-16) (aged 78)
Place of burial	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States of America
Service / branch	United States Army
Years of service	1901–1920
Rank	Colonel
Battles / wars	World War I
Signature

History

Alvin Barton Barber was born May 19, 1883, in Portland, Oregon, the son of Sumner Joseph and Ellen (née Barton) Barber.^[2] He attended the United States Military Academy from June 11, 1901, to June 13, 1905, graduating 5th in his class. After graduation, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and assigned to the United States Army Corps of Engineers.^[3] He was responsible for duties relating to military and public works in the United States and Philippines.^[4] In 1906 he assisted in the relief efforts after an earthquake in San Francisco.^[5]

During World War I, from May to June 1917, he served with the Railway Commission in England and France. He served in various Headquarters and field units until January 31, 1919. From February through August 4, 1919, he was in Paris with the American Relief Administration,^[6] in charge of transportation and distribution, under the direction of Herbert Hoover.^[2]

From August 1919 to 1922, he was appointed chief of the European Technical Advisers Mission to Poland, and served as technical adviser to the Polish Minister of Railways in Warsaw, Poland. It was during this period, on January 26, 1920, that he resigned from the Army. His work during and after World War I brought him citations from the American Expeditionary Forces General Headquarters and decorations from the French, Finnish, and Polish governments.^[2][6][7]

Barber established a reputation as a transportation expert during his service in France and Poland, leading to his selection as manager of the Transportation and Communication Department of the United States Chamber of Commerce in 1923. He served in this position until retiring in 1948, he became a staff director on the National Security Resources Board and then a transportation consultant for the Office of Defense Mobilization until retiring in 1957.^[2]

Barber died on September 16, 1961, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.^[8]

Family

Barber married Lucy Clementine Lombardi on August 20, 1908, a marriage that lasted 53 years. They had three sons and a daughter who reached adult years.^[2] One of his sons, Cesar Lombardi Barber, married Elizabeth Duncan Putnam, the daughter of George R. Putnam, Commissioner of Lighthouses.

Bibliography

• Report of European technical advisers mission to Poland, 1919–1922. New York: De Vinne Press. 1923.

References

1. "Col. Barber Quits Poland. Terminates Services There and Starts for Home". The New York Times. August 13, 1922. p. 31. Retrieved July 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Colonel A. B. Barber, technical adviser to the Repubiic of Poland for the last three years, who was appointed ... to undertake the mission for Poland, had wide experience to the American Relief Administration to handle ...
2. "Alvin B. Barber, 1905". Memorial Articles. West Point Association of Graduates. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
3. Cullum, George Washington (1910). Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. Houghton, Mifflin. p. 748. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
4. Assembly. Association of Graduates, United States Military Academy. 1962. p. 62.
5. "Alvin Barton Barber, Colonel, United States Army". www.arlingtoncemetery.net. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
6. Cullum, George Washington (1920). Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. Houghton, Mifflin. p. 1156. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
7. Bane, Suda Lorena; Lutz, Ralph Haswell (1943). Organization of American Relief in Europe, 1918–1919. Stanford University Press. p. 229. ISBN 978-0804702812. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
8. Burial Detail: Barber, Alvin B – ANC Explorer