Veteran receives WWII medals

More than 60 years after he was wounded, an Oklahoma City man has received the medals he earned in Italy during World War II but lost in a fire decades ago.

Jim Farr, who was a sergeant in Oklahoma's 45th Infantry Division, said he lost his Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Combat Infantry Badge in the blaze. Getting replacements became more complicated when another fire destroyed U.S. military records Farr needed to prove his service.

Farr, 84, finally received his medals this month.

Farr, born and raised in Oklahoma City, joined the 45th Infantry Division in 1940. His one-year term ended before the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

In January 1942, Farr signed up again and returned to his old company in the 45th. His unit saw its first action in Sicily in July 1943.

"It's scary real scary, Farr said. "As soon as you stop, you start digging your hole.

He said the artillery barrages were almost constant.

"I remember the first time we were ever shelled, Farr said. "We were on a small hill with no cover and everybody just fell down on the ground. The lieutenant came around and grabbed some of the guys. We ran forward and got into a creekbed.

Surviving a shelling U.S. and British troops took Sicily in about a month and moved on to invade Italy in September 1943. Oct. 15, 1943, Farr was called to a command post.

"Just as soon as I got there, a German tank started shelling, Farr said.

He doesn't remember how many shells hit the command post, he just remembers the one that hit him.

"It hit me in the leg, but I felt it from the tip of my toes to the top of my head, Farr said.

The shell that wounded Farr killed two other soldiers. Farr's commander asked him if he could walk, so he tried to make his way up a trail. But the wound was worse than he thought, and he couldn't continue.

A medic showed up and carried Farr to an aid station. From there, he visited hospitals across Europe before he was discharged and sent home.

"I was on a liberty ship coming through the straits of Gibraltar when they invaded Germany, Farr said.

He returned to Oklahoma City and a career in construction. He and his wife, Dorothy, whom he married during the war, had two daughters.

Not until January of 2004 did Farr look into having his medals replaced. He called the military but was told a fire destroyed his records. Without documents to prove his combat injury, the military could not send him new medals.

Farr didn't know where his personal records were. Much like many of his memories from the war, he had stashed them away.

"Then I ran across an old photostatic copy of my discharge papers, Farr said. "It had my record on it.

The medals came in the mail about a week ago. Farr bought a case to display them and said he won't lose them again.

Farr said he is happy to have something to honor his military service and hopes his story is a reminder that all war veterans have sacrificed, whether they have a medal to prove it or not.

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