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| Lt. Charles Farnum earned the Silver Star with the 442nd Infantry Regiment in Bruyeres, France. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/48825076/charles-oliver-farnum http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2006/2/23/nikkei-heritage-anniversary/ |
Charles Oliver Farnum, Jr. never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on June 5, 1919 in South Carolina. His parents Charles and Julia were also both born in South Carolina. His father worked as a farmer. Charles had one younger sister. By 1940 Charles had completed three years of college and was still living with his parents.
He enlisted in the army on January 22, 1942. After attending officers candidate school he became a first lieutenant in the HQ Company, 2nd Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment. The 442nd IR was composed of Japanese Americans from Hawaii and the American mainland. However, the American culture at the time resulted in the officers being white men.
His unit fought the Germans in Italy at Salerno, Monte Cassino, Anzio, and Rome to the Arno River. Transferred to France, his unit fought across Southern France to the Vosges Mountains.
By mid October, the 442nd IR was given the assignment of taking the town of Bruyeres. That meant it would need to take four surrounding hills, well defended by Germans. On October 20, 1944, a party of men were carrying supplies to front line units, when they were pinned down by the enemy. Lt. Farnum ordered reinforcements to rescue the carrying party, but he did not wait for them to arrive. Instead, he attacked the Germans single-handedly to draw away fire from the pinned troops. Lt Farnum was killed, but the trapped men got away.
Here is his Silver Star citation:
When Lieutenant Farnum learned that a carrying party from his company had been ambushed by a strong force of enemy riflemen, he immediately summoned reinforcements to come to the aid of his ambushed troops. Without waiting for the reinforcements to arrive, Lieutenant Farnum hurried to the area and began working his way toward the enemy forces in a desperate effort to draw the enemy fire away from his carrying party. Determined to save his men, even at the expense of his life, Lieutenant Farnum continued to advance toward the enemy position until he was cut down by a hail of hostile fire.
As a result of his daring, the carrying party was able to escape and the rescuing party which he had summoned was enabled to surround and destroy the enemy force. His actions, without regard for his own safety, reflect great credit on himself and the Armed Forces of the United States.
Headquarters, 7th Army, General Orders No. 29 (February 2, 1945)
Thank you Lt. Farnum for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Charles.
Last year on this date I profiled John Balaban, 1st Infantry Division. You can read about John here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
The men in the 442nd IR earned more decorations than any other regiment in World War 2. It suffered so many casualties that more than 14,000 men served in the 4,000 man unit. Nearly 10,000 earned Purple Hearts.
His grave is at Sunnyside Cemetery in Orangeburg, South Carolina.
Last year on this date I profiled John Balaban, 1st Infantry Division. You can read about John here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
No words can describe any of these men that you profile each day; except rest in peace, Warrior.
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