Willett C. Barrett, 1918

Our Omega Mu brothers who served in the military are cherished and constant fraternal friends, and we would like to say thank you for the steadfast, purposeful commitment you made to our nation to defend those four freedoms we all believe in: “Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.” For those brothers who were killed in defense of these freedoms, they will always occupy a consecrated place in our linked fraternal heart because they exemplify the idea of superlative commitment, strength, and fortitude for the good to the end itself. The greatness of their collective purpose and will, on our nation’s behalf, will never be forgotten. By their “clear-eyed faith and fearless heart,” these brothers have left us a fraternal legacy that echoes what we often say about Omega Mu Fijis: “Perseverance and determination are omnipotent.” Their code of integrity, courage, duty, responsibility, and self-sacrifice on behalf of our nation is a powerful legacy that we will always be proud of as Omega Mu Fijis. 

​Whether it was at New Orleans, Red River, Fort Blakely, Marianna, San Juan Hill, Santiago de Cuba, Chateau-Thierry, Verdun, El Guettar, Elba, Monte Della Vedetta, the Battle of the Bulge, Rabaul, Inchon, Pusan, Chosin Reservoir, Pork Chop Hill, Hue, Easter Offensive, Phu Cat, The Iron Triangle, Hamburger Hill, la Drang Valley, Bien Hoa, Khe Sanh, Rumaila,  Al-Batin, Medina Ridge, Kabul, Kandahar, our Omega Mu brothers have demonstrated devotion to duty in defense of freedom and liberty. They are the stability of our nation, and we, the Omega Mu brotherhood, revere, honor, and salute their persevering and determined spirit within our great nation and our historic brotherhood. We will always honor the heroism of all of our brothers who have served in the armed forces from the Civil War to the present. Thank you. 

Omega Mu Veteran
Willett C. Barrett,
1918

Omega Mu Years

University of Maine Clubs

The Prism

University of Maine R.O.T.C

Willett C. Barrett trained at the Officers Training Camp at Plattsburg, New York, and then left for France in 1917.

Willett C. Barrett was a second lieutenant in Company G, 167th Regiment, 42d "Rainbow" Division. He was engaged in action at Oise River and Chateau-Thierry.

"Willett C. Barrett was Killed on July 28, 1918, while leading a charge at Hill 212, in the battle of Chateau-Thierry near the town of Sergy. He had gone only a few feet when he was struck in the head by a machine gun bullet. He was first buried in France. Later his body was brought back to America and reburied at Newport, Rhode Island."

Sergy, France, above and below.

Hill 212 and the town of Sergy, upper right.

The advance of the 42nd U.S. against the Germans near Sergy and Hill 212.

The town of Sergy and Hill 212 behind.

Tourists walking up Hill 212 near Sergy, France.

The following is from one of Mrs. Barrett’s letters that she wrote to our Omega Mu brothers a few weeks after her son’s death: “He was an athlete, an artist, and was possessed of a splendid voice, which often filled the halls of Phi Gamma Delta with songs about Phi Gam. He went to war cheerfully, and his letters, written in the trenches, though showing plainly between the lines he did not expect to return, were cheerful.”

Where Willett C. Barrett was initially buried in the Oise Aisne Cemetery in
Aisne, France.

Memorial to the valor of the 42 Rainbow Division during World War I in France.

“What if the space be long and wide,
That parts us from our brother’s side
A soul-joined chain unites our band,
And memory links us hand in hand.”
(Phi Gamma Delta fraternity song)

Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82
Perge