WEST CHESTER, Ohio — Among the photographs, model airplanes and military memorabilia in Michael Barker's basement is a patch that once belonged to his father.
WATCH: Butler County's 2026 veteran of the year explains how his service didn't end when he hung up his uniform
Barker's father served in the Navy during the Korean War. He later built a successful business career, but what his son remembers most is the person he was.
“It's like everybody loved him,” Barker said.
Growing up, Barker wanted to follow that example. When he joined the U.S. Air Force in 1984, his father gave him permission to wear his Navy squadron patch on his uniform.
Barker carried it with him as a B-52 tail gunner, including during Desert Storm. After Barker left the Air Force, his father asked for it back. Today, he keeps it alongside other reminders of his father's service.
It's a connection to the man who helped shape his own understanding of service.
But when Barker's military career ended, finding his next purpose wasn't easy.
The Air Force had given him more than a job. It had given him a team, a mission and a sense of belonging. Even after earning an industrial engineering degree and building a successful civilian career, something was missing.
“I just felt empty and a little bit of a loss because I wasn't part of that team anymore,” Barker said.
It took years to adjust. Decades after returning from Desert Storm, Barker began to understand and address the combat-related trauma he had carried with him. Through therapy and education with the Department of Veterans Affairs, he came to recognize how much he had been struggling.
Now, he wants younger veterans to get help before they spend years carrying those experiences alone.
“I just don't want those guys to wait 30 years like I did,” he said. “Because why not take care of your issues now? It's OK to ask for help.”
That commitment has become a central part of Barker's life. As commander of West Chester VFW Post 7696 and an ambassador for Honor Flight Tri-State, he works to connect veterans with one another and make sure their service is recognized.
One effort brings younger combat veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan eras together with older veterans on Honor Flight trips to Washington, D.C. The hope is that sharing the experience and spending time together creates connections across generations.
Barker sees parts of himself in those younger veterans. Some have told him that his encouragement helped them come out of their shells. While he hopes to help them feel less alone, he says the relationships have given something back to him, too.
“The more I give, the more I get back too,” Barker said. “So it kind of goes both ways.”
His wife, Sally, has seen that commitment firsthand. The two met in England in 1986, when Barker was stationed there with the Air Force. A year later, he arranged for about 50 people from her village to visit the base, where he gave them a tour of a B-52.
Nearly four decades later, Sally saw how much of himself Barker was giving to other veterans. Without telling him, she wrote a nomination for Butler County's 2026 Veteran of the Year.
Barker said he was surprised to learn he had been selected.
Sally says he doesn't always see the impact he has on others.
“I don't think he realizes how much he does and how much he helps,” she said.
For Barker, the recognition is meaningful, but the relationships he's built with other veterans are what keep him involved.
"I guess it's just recognition that maybe what I'm doing makes a difference," Barker said.
