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On Saturday, a standing room only crowd gathered at the Phoenix VFW to celebrate the life of Technical Sgt. Lynn Mason Farnham of Phoenix, NY.
After many decades interred in the Lorraine Cemetery in France, the soldier is returning home for burial in Arlington National Cemetery, where he will be interred on October 1st. “Hope remained alive for 81 years,” noted Pastor Jeffrey Hodge during the memorial service.
Farnham and the plane’s co-pilot Second Lieutenant Bill May, who was also killed in action, were buried together as unknown soldiers—but the year of their death was mistakenly logged as 1943 instead of 1944. Despite dogged attempts to find him, family members were continually frustrated in their efforts. But they never stopped trying. “His mother never gave up hope to see him walk through the door,” Pastor Hodge said. What ended up bringing him home was historians’ discovery of the clerical error and a DNA swab from his youngest sister, Marian Farnham Candee.
Family, VFW members, community members, and other veterans’ groups all came together to honor Farnham’s sacrifice. Sergeant Farnham was an in-flight engineer on his 39th mission out of the required 50 before being able to return state-side. His dual responsibilities as mechanic and gunner were critical to saving the lives of the other men on-board when their B-17G Flying Fortress was surrounded and then attacked by as many as 80 enemy aircraft. The actions of Farnham and Second Lieutenant May gave the other eight men aboard the time they needed to safely bail out.
Tch. Sgt. Farnham was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart, an Air Medal with one Silver Oak Leaf Cluster, and an Army Good Conduct Medal. He was also awarded an American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with four Service Stars, World War II Victory Medal, U.S. Army Air Forces Enlisted Aircrew Member Wings, and Honorable Service Lapel Button-World War II.
While Farnham was a courageous soldier and a hometown hero, he was also more than those things. The airman was a beloved son, friend, brother, and fiancée. Lynn was one of six boys and two girls; four of his brothers fought in and survived the war. He loved music: as a youngster, he sang choir at Little Utica United Methodist Church and he was also fond of playing the trumpet. He was elected president of his class (1941) at Phoenix High School. During training in Texas, Lynn met and fell in love with a woman named Rosemary. After going missing in action, Rosemary’s letters were given to Farnham’s mother, who corresponded with the younger woman until long after the war.
“The family’s been waiting for this since the day I was born,” said Sue, whose mother Marian’s DNA was the key to bringing Lynn home. At the conclusion of the memorial, Pastor Hodge asked all those in the family who had been named after Lynn Mason Farnham to come to the front for the final prayer: eight people from three generations came forward, with at least one additional family member missing. The service then proceeded outside, where Farnham was given full military honors and a seven-gun salute.
This hero was long-missed and well-loved. We at iHeart Oswego are proud to see him finally come home to rest.
