Shorty was born in Taylor, Texas and grew up in several towns across West Texas as the second of three boys. Shorty decided early on that he
wanted to see the world and figured the best way to do so would be to join the military. With the help of his father, he enlisted in the United States Navy at the age of 17.
Shorty served aboard the USS Rupertus (DD 851) and was a proud Vietnam Veteran. Following his naval service, Shorty returned to Texas where he met and married Pat and raised three sons: Rick, David, and Eddie. Shorty and Pat moved to Dripping Springs in 1986 where they quickly became involved in the community.
Shorty was a beloved member of the Sunset Canyon Baptist Church staff for 17 years where he took care of anything that needed to be done. He was a founding and active member of American Legion Post 290 & VFW Post 2933 and took great pride in being a veteran. He loved participating in the various Veterans Day activities across Dripping Springs ISD and his lap was often full of kids claiming Shorty as theirs.Here is a well-deserved salute and toast to Ronnie “Shorty” Glen Barnett. Shorty joined Jesus’ crew of fishing buddies on February 17, 2023 at the age of 77.
VFW Post 2933 salutes sailor Gary Watson (pictured on the right), brother of our member Eugene Watson, 
for his service aboard the USS Coral Sea during the Vietnam War years. Gary served 5 years in the Navy with multiple missions in the waters off Vietnam performing plane hook ups on aircraft carrier flight decks. Gary was even featured in the Discovery Channel show “Wings” (see background HERE), where Gary (in the green sleeves at work) hooked up a Sky Raider on the USS Coral Sea. Check out the episode on YouTube HERE (check the 40 sec through 1 min, 30 sec timeframe). Well done Gary Watson and Happy Birthday to the US Navy!!