Edward Allen Farris; U.S. Army; 35th Inf Div; Flavigny Bridge Battle

Edward A. Farris, 96, of Frankfort, Kentucky died Saturday, 4 March 2017. He was a native of Adair County, Kentucky whose education at the University of Kentucky was temporarily interrupted by his call to service. As a member of UK’s Enlisted Reserve Corps, in 1942 Farris attended basic training at Fort Wolters, Texas. As a member of the 35th Inf Division, he arrived in the Normandy hedgerow country as a replacement in July, 1944 and was assigned as an Infantry sergeant to 2nd Battalion (Company G), 134th Inf Regiment. He fought across France until knocked out of action by a mortar round just east of Nancy, France on 13 November 1944. Farris’ account of the FlavignyBridge battle - Moselle River crossing – has been entered into the archives of the President Harry Truman Library as part of the divisional history of the 35th.

Farris returned to his native Kentucky, and with the help of the GI Bill, completed his degree and worked as the chief of staff for two Kentucky governors during the late 1940s and 1950s. He was a classic behind the scenes political operative who was motivated solely by the public interest and never by money or self-interest. Farris played key roles in supporting integration in the state after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of Education and reforming school finance, establishing the state park system, funding rural roads and rural electrification programs for Kentucky. Later, Farris served three Kentucky governors as their Alcoholic Beverage Commissioner. He is survived by a son, Larry Farris (Texas); two daughters, Linda Beasley (Missouri) and Cathy McGaughey (Kentucky); his sister, Jessie Jones (Kentucky) and several grandchildren and many great-grandchildren.

 

We have spoken before via this site. I'm sorry to hear this news but I am glad he lived a long life. Not sure if I shared this, but my grandfather arrived the same day and was a replacement also. He was in co. E of the 134th. wendymiller1969@comcast.net