Write a commentJoin the Village of Phoenix in celebrating the life of Tech. Sgt. Lynn M. Farnham, a World War II flight engineer missing in action since February 1944.
VFW Post #5540, located at 70 Culvert St. in Phoenix, hosts the ‘welcome home’ ceremony at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 26. It will be followed by a luncheon and all are invited to honor this hometown hero.
The son of Lewis and Myra, Farnham was one of five brothers to serve in the armed forces during WWII. He was a graduate of Phoenix high school, serving as class president his senior year in 1941. He worked for PCK Swiss Chocolate Co. in Fulton before enlisting in in the U.S. Army on Sept. 13, 1942. He won his wings at Amarillo, TX and received additional training with the Air Corps in Tennessee, Arizona and Washington.
On Feb. 25, 1944, Farnham was aboard a B-17G “Flying Fortress” which was shot down by enemy aircraft over Germany. While surviving crew members reported seeing him killed, Farnham’s remains were not recovered until 1946.
It took another eight decades before his identity could finally be confirmed using mitochondrial DNA analysis as announced by the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) last July.
Along with others still missing from WWII, Farnham’s name is recorded on the “Tablets of the Missing” at Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Italy. A rosette will now be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Farnham will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Wednesday, Oct. 1 of this year, 82 years to the day after he left the U.S. to report to his station in Italy.
For more information, contact Phoenix VFW Post #5540 at 315-695-3315 or Post Commander Eric Mills 315-901-2067.
