VICKSBURG, Miss.— The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is home to some of the world’s most powerful high-performance computing systems, which recently have been named to honor Mississippi-native Medal of Honor recipients. Three of the previous supercomputing system namesakes include Lance Cpl. Roy Wheat, Capt. Ed Freeman and Col. Kyle Carpenter. The newest trail-blazing system is named “Barfoot” in recognition of the late Col. Van T. Barfoot, who was an American hero on and off of the battlefield.
On Thursday, January 22, 2026, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the organization’s Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) in Vicksburg, Mississippi, where the new supercomputer was dedicated in honor of the Medal of Honor recipient and Mississippi native.
“Today, we honor Col. Barfoot not only by remembering what he did, but by carrying his legacy forward,” said ERDC Commander, Lt. Col. Joshua Haynes. “He faced complex and dangerous challenges with speed, clarity, and decisive action — and it is fitting that his name now stands on a machine that will give ERDC a competitive edge in research and development dominance.”
On May 23, 1944, during World War II while his platoon was surrounded by German forces, Barfoot ran alone across the battlefield and singlehandedly took out two machine gun nests using hand grenades. Barfoot continued to march forward, playing offense to defend his country, and by the end of the battle, he had successfully neutralized multiple threats, resulting in the capture of 17 enemy soldiers. His bravery and leadership earned him a promotion to second lieutenant and the Medal of Honor, which he received in Epinal, France.
Dr. Robert Moser, director of ITL, welcomed 11 members of the Barfoot family, including one of his sons and several cousins and nephews.
“We are thankful to have you all here as we celebrate this exciting occasion, commemorating a great American as we field new capabilities in our tools for the arsenal of democracy,” said Moser.
“Our family is deeply honored by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s decision to name this supercomputer after my father,” said Jim Barfoot, son of the late Col. Barfoot. “He would be humbled to know that this supercomputer helps protect our nation and preserve the republic he served so faithfully.”
The Barfoot system is a HPE Cray EX4000 supercomputer with 212,000 compute cores and capable of over 9 quadrillion calculations per second.
“Imagine giving 8 billion people a calculator and asking them to perform one calculation every second without stopping,” said Ben Parsons, director of ERDC’s DoD Supercomputing Resource Center (DSRC). “It would take every person on earth over two weeks to do the number of calculations that this computer can do in one second — that is the scale and the power that we are unleashing today to solve some of our nation’s most critical problems.”
Barfoot continued his service in the Army during the Korean War, and after completing flight training to become a helicopter pilot, he served as a deputy aviation officer during the Vietnam War. After serving 30 years in the Army, he retired as a colonel in 1974. Throughout his military career, Barfoot proved to be a trailblazer in his own right by choosing to act and rescue others before himself — but that wasn’t the last time that he took a risk to honor his country.
“If my father were here today, he would be humbled,” said Jim Barfoot. “He never spoke of his own accomplishments — he spoke of his soldiers and the people around him. Service defined his life: service to God, to family, and to the nation he proudly served. The last thing he did was serve our flag.”
In 2009, at 90 years old and just two years before he died, Barfoot planted a 21-foot flagpole in his front yard in Virginia, displaying the American flag. His neighborhood homeowner’s association did not approve and threatened to take legal action when he refused to remove the flagpole. The argument became so widely known that Virginia governor, Tim Kaine, signed a law making it illegal for an HOA to stop homeowners from flying the American flag on their property. Barfoot stood his ground and won the battle — again.
“Col. Barfoot is an American hero and it’s our special privilege to honor his courage, his valor and his impact on our nation,” said ERDC Deputy Director, Ms. Patricia Sullivan. “This supercomputer will be used to provide cutting edge solutions to some of the toughest challenges facing the nation and the Warfighter.
Barfoot’s legacy is a reminder that ERDC’s mission to discover, develop and deliver solutions for the military is critical. The Supercomputing Research Center (SRC) plays a major role in the success of that mission, and this new system will significantly enhance ERDC’s ability to support the DoD’s most demanding computational challenges and help ensure Soldiers get their jobs done and return home safely.
“These supercomputers are very important to the future and defense of the country,” said Mr. Kelly Dalton, director of the High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP). “This is truly an investment in our security our prosperity and the future of our great nation.”
ERDC’s ITL is a premier Department of Defense (DoD) center engaged in creating and applying advanced information technology to support the Warfighter and the nation. From running some of the world’s fastest supercomputers, to utilizing the latest artificial and virtual reality equipment to solve problems, ITL is committed to harnessing the power of cutting-edge technology to make the world safer and better.