Rex Barber was born on May 6, 1917, in Culver, Oregon. He attended Oregon State College from 1937 to 1940, and then enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps on September 30, 1940. After completing basic training, PFC Barber served as a Finance Clerk with Headquarters 19th Air Base Group at McChord Field, Washington, before entering the Aviation Cadet Program of the U.S. Army Air Corps on March 14, 1941. He attended Primary Flying School at Rankin Field, California, from March to May 1941; Basic Flying School at Moffett Field, California, from May to August 1941, and Advanced Flying School at Mather Field, California, where he was awarded his pilot wings and was commissioned a 2d Lt in the U.S. Army Air Forces on October 31, 1941. Lt Barber's first assignment was as a P-40 Warhawk pilot with the 51st Fighter Group at March Field, California, during November 1941, followed by service as a P-40 pilot with the 70th Pursuit Squadron of the 35th Pursuit Group at Hamilton Field, California, from December 1941 to January 1942. He deployed with the newly renamed 70th Fighter Squadron to Fiji in January 1942, serving as a P-39 Airacobra pilot there until he transferred to the 339th Fighter Squadron of the 347th Fighter Group on Guadalcanal in December 1942. Lt Barber was credited with his 1st aerial victory credit while serving with the 70th Fighter Squadron on December 28, 1942, while flying a P-39. He next served as a P-38 Lightning pilot with the 339th Fighter Squadron from December 1942 to May 1943, and during this time he was credited with the destruction of 4 more enemy aircraft in aerial combat, including the aircraft carrying Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto during Operation Vengeance on April 18, 1943, for which he was awarded the Navy Cross. Capt Barber left the Southwest Pacific Area to return to the United States in June 1943, and then served as a P-47 Thunderbolt instructor pilot with the 321st Fighter Squadron at Westover Field, Massachusetts, from July to September 1943. His next assignment was as an instructor pilot for the Chinese-American Composite Wing in Karachi, India, from October to December 1943, and then as a P-38 pilot with the 449th Fighter Squadron of the 51st Fighter Group in China from December 1943 until he was shot down over enemy territory on April 29, 1944. Maj Barber managed to evade capture, and returned to friendly forces on June 8, 1944. During this time he was credited with 2 probables in the air, and 1 damaged, for a total of 5 destroyed, 2 probables, and 2 damaged during World War II. He returned to the United States in late June 1944, and received treatment for his injuries at Letterman General Hospital in San Francisco, from June to July 1944. After taking leave to finish recuperating from his injuries, Maj Barber served as a P-38, P-51 Mustang, and P-59 Airacomet jet fighter pilot and Executive Officer of the 29th Fighter Squadron at Oxnard and then at Santa Maria Army Air Field, California, from January to October 1945; followed by service as Commander of the 31st Fighter Squadron of the 412th Fighter Group at March Field, California, from December 1945 to August 1946. He continued on as Commander of the 27th Fighter Squadron after the 31st was renamed from August to September 1946, and during this time he flew the P-80 Shooting Star jet fighter. His next assignment was as an Operations Officer and Liaison with the 300th Army Air Force Base Unit with Headquarters Tactical Air Command at Langley Field, Virginia, from September 1946 to August 1947, followed attending the Air Tactical School at Tyndall AFB, Florida, from August to December 1947. Maj Barber served as an Operations Staff Officer, Assistant Branch Chief, and Executive Officer on the staff of Headquarters Tactical Air Command at Langley AFB from December 1947 to July 1950, and during this time he attended Air Command and Staff School at Maxwell AFB from July to December 1949. He flew 3 combat missions in an L-5 Sentinel while on a short Temporary Duty Assignment to Taegu Air Base, South Korea, at the beginning for the Korean War from July to August 1950, and then served as Assistant to the Director of Material Plans with Headquarters Continental Air Command at Mitchel AFB, New York, from August 1950 to January 1951. Lt Col Barber next served as Director of the Material Plans Division with Headquarters Air Defense Command at Ent AFB, Colorado, from January 1951 to March 1952, followed by service as Assistant Deputy of Materials with Headquarters Air Defense Command from March to May 1952. He attended the Strategic Intelligence School and then Spanish Language School from June 1952 to February 1953, and then served as Air Attaché to the Colombian Air Force in Bogotá, Colombia, from February 1953 to August 1956. Col Barber next attended Armed Forces Staff College at Norfolk, Virginia, from August 1956 to January 1957, followed by service as Wing Inspector General for the 354th Fighter Day Wing at Myrtle Beach AFB, South Carolina, from February to September 1957. He served as Commander of the 354th Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Myrtle Beach AFB from September 1957 to March 1958, and then as Assistant Director of Material for the 354th Fighter Day Wing at Myrtle Beach AFB from March to June 1958. Col Barber's final assignment was as Director of Material for the 354th Fighter Day Wing (redesignated the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing in July 1958) at Myrtle Beach AFB from June 1958 until his retirement from the Air Force on April 1, 1961. Rex Barber Flew West on July 26, 2001, and was buried at the Redmond Memorial Cemetery in Redmond, Oregon.

His Navy Cross Citation reads:

For extraordinary heroism while attached to a Marine Fighter Command in action against enemy Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands on April 18, 1943. Participating in a dangerously long interception flight, First Lieutenant Barber contacted a formation of two enemy bombers escorted by six fighters in a complete surprise approach. Quickly engaging the enemy, he pressed his tactical advantage and struck fiercely, destroying one Japanese bomber at such close range that fragments from the explosion lodged in the wings of his plane, and shooting down the escorting enemy fighter plane with chad been attempting to divert the attack. His brilliant airmanship and determined fighting spirit throughout a daring and vital mission were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Armed Service.