ELGIN – On July 1, 1942, Elgin native Arthur Farrar left his job as the Superintendent of Public Schools and enlisted in the U.S.
Coast Guard Reserves as an Apprentice Seaman. Before accepting the position of superintendent, Farrar had been a teacher before becoming the high school principal.
Within about three months after enlisting he was sent to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, for Reserve Officer’s Training, according to information from the Navy and Coast Guard Veterans of World War II and Korea website, usslci. org/lcil-85-the-fourleaf- clover. Farrar joined LCI85 in Galveston, Texas, and four months later he sailed off to war.
Lt. Farrar participated in the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, while serving on an infantry landing craft in the Mediterranean Sea, according to an article in the April 27, 1945, edition of The Lawton Morning Press. In Sept. 1943, he also participated in the invasion of the Italian mainland.
D-Day – Normandy
The “Great Crusade” to liberate Northern Europe from the Nazis was ordered by Gen. Dwight D.
Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces for “Operation Overlord” to begin on June 6, 1944.
Farrar was on board LCI 85 when the craft set sail from Weymouth Harbor, Dorset, England, at 3 p.m. on June 5 and sailed the majority of the way across the English Channel in daylight with overcast skies, wrote historian John France for the USS Landing Craft Infantry National Association.
“From midnight on, Farrar observed air activity over France. Cones of flak of various colors lit up the sky. Many expected to be bombed by German aircraft or attacked by torpedo boats during the voyage, but it did not happen.
By 4 a.m., LCI 85 was circling in her assigned position, awaiting orders to head for shore. At 7:30 a.m., she headed full speed towards the battle,” France wrote.
“LCI 85 was scheduled to land troops on Easy Red sector of Omaha Beach at 8:30 a.m. during half-tide when many of the beach obstacles were exposed,” France’s report continued.
“Omaha Beach was two miles long and Easy Red sector was located in the eastern half. There were few signs of trouble ahead.
“Farrar was stationed between the two ramps at the bow. He was in charge of landing the troops … and those manning the ramps were soaked by waves splashing over the bow. As LCI 85 neared the shoreline, signs of a deadly, chaotic battle came into view. Numerous small landing craft careened about and many had been hit by enemy fire,” said the report. The LCI 85 was forced to move locations several times in an attempt to land, coming under heavy assault each time.
In the June 29, 1944, edition of the Lawton News-Review, it was reported that Farrar had written to friends about his injuries sustained on D-Day.
“An 88-millimeter shell hit him and a sizable piece of flesh was taken out of the left thigh. He said that after hitting him, the shell went straight through the ship,” the newspaper article reported.
“As LCI 85 retracted, the wounded Farrar climbed down onto the ramp in an attempt to rescue the wounded soldiers clinging to it,” France’s historical report continued.
“He pulled one man onto the ramp and held on to him.
Another soldier clung to the ramp without assistance.
Farrar tried to pull a third soldier up but the terrified man had a death grip on a lower stanchion of the ramp. Farrar could not break the soldier’s grip. Farrar realized that he could not save the man and let him go. Farrar and the other men on the ramp had a rough ride during the fast retraction away from the German guns.
They got dunked several times into the waves as they clung to the dangling ramp.
“Farrar was shipped via hospital ship to the U.S. Navy Hospital, Portsmouth, Virginia, where he was admitted on July 29, 1944. There, he received a whole skin graft on his left gluteal region for his wound sustained on D-Day. He was granted convalescent leave and he returned to Elgin, Oklahoma.
On Sept. 9, 1944, he married Ferne Castle in nearby Lawton, Oklahoma.
“Farrar was awarded the Purple Heart Medal and he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his heroism at the ramps of LCI 85 on D Day.
On June 29, 1945, he was assigned to Coast Guard Operations Base, Galveston, Texas as Communications Officer and Port Security Officer. On September 1, 1945, he was transferred to Houston, Texas as the Port Security Officer.
“Farrar requested to remain on active duty, but his request was denied October 24, 1945, due to a reduction of force of the military returning to peace time strength. Farrar was mustered out of active duty status in New Orleans on January 14, 1946.
The following day, he began his inactive duty reserve status and returned to his job as Superintendent of Schools in Elgin, Oklahoma,” France reported in his historical document.
The article reported that Farrar and his wife Ferne raised three sons and a daughter. He retired from his position of Superintendent of Elgin Schools in 1967.
He finished his career in education as the Head of the Business Department at Cameron University.
Farrar died Oct. 29, 1989, and his wife, Ferne, died Jan. 31, 2008. Both are buried in the Old Elgin Cemetery.
Debi DeSilver is an award-winning, thirdgeneration Oklahoma journalist whose writing career now spans 50 years. She can be reached at silvercitypublishing@gmail.com.