Kenneth D. Farris

Company B 1st Battalion 22nd Infantry

4th Infantry Division

MIA/FOD 11/28/1944

Kenneth Dayle Farris was born in Dodson, Collingsworth County, Texas on August 24, 1925.

He was known to his family as Dayle.

He was drafted into the Army on January 11, 1944 at Lubbock, Texas. His home of residence was listed
as Collingsworth County, Texas. He had completed four years of High School
and was single with no dependents when inducted. He was married before
shipping overseas. His religion was listed as Protestant.

He was assigned to Company B from the 92nd Replacement Battalion on November 24, 1944.

Private Farris was listed as Missing In Action in Germany during the Battle of the Hürtgen Forest,
and on November 29, 1945 his status was changed to Finding Of Death, declared dead.

Pvt. Kenneth Dayle Farris of Dodson, who has been missing in action since November 28, 1944, is now presumed
to be dead, Major Gen. Edward F. Witsell, acting adjutant general, informed Mrs. Farris early this month. Pvt. Farris
was serving with an infantry division in Germany at the time he was reported missing. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Farris,
formerly of Dodson, now of Seagraves, and the son-in-law of Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Hunt of Dodson. His wife, who was
Miss Erma Lee Hunt, now lives at Dallas.

The letter from the war department said in part:

"Since your husband, Private Kenneth Dayle Farris, 38_______, Infantry, was reported missing in action 28 November 1944,
the War Department has entertained the hope that he survived and that information would be revealed dispelling the uncertainty
surrounding his absence. However, as in many cases, the conditions of warfare deny us such information. The record concerning
your husband shows that he was a member of Company B, 22nd Infantry, which departed from east of Zweifall, Germany,
28 November 1944, on a mission to clear the surrounding wooded area of the enemy to Grosshau, Germany. During enemy
shelling of the area occupied by the company your husband was wounded but he did not reach the battalion aid station.
His last known whereabouts was east of Zweifall, Germany."

"Full consideration has recently been given to all available information bearing on the absence of your husband, including all records,
reports and circumstances. These have been carefully reviewed and considered. In view of the fact that twelve months have now
expired without the receipt of evidence to support a continued presumption of survival, the War Department must terminate
such absence by a presumptive finding of death".

The Wellington Leader
Wellington, Collingsworth County, Texas
Thursday, December 13, 1945 ¹

Kenneth D. Farris's name is inscribed on the Tablets of the Missing
at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, Margraten,
Eijsden-Margraten Municipality, Limburg, Netherlands

The name of Kenneth D. Farris on the Tablets of the Missing

Photo by Fred from the Find A Grave website

The name of Kenneth D. Farris on the Tablets of the Missing, with a rosette in front of his name added in 2018,
to show he has been identified and recoverd.

Photo by Dodson Cemetery Association from the Find A Grave website

Kenneth D. Farris was also memorialized by a marker in the family plot
at Dodson Cemetery, Dodson, Collingsworth County, Texas,
Plot: OLD Section, Plot 114, Grave D (3-H)

Memorial marker for Kenneth D. Farris in the Farris family plot at Dodson Cemetery

Photo by Jeanette Perrin Coaly from the Find A Grave website

Decorations of Kenneth D. Farris

A colorized photo of Kenneth D. Farris in uniform

From the Fields of Honor website

The certificate for the Purple Heart awarded to Kenneth D. Farris

From the WFAA website

Soldier Killed During World War II Accounted For (Farris, K.)
By DPAA Public Affairs

WASHINGTON, May 1, 2018 — Army Pvt. Kenneth D. Farris, killed during World War II, was accounted for on April 23, 2018.

In November 1944, Farris served with Company B, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. Farris’ unit arrived in
the Hürtgen Forest in Germany on Nov. 9, 1944 and immediately began preparing to advance eastward to the town of Grosshau.
Despite continued progress, the regiment’s Soldiers sustained heavy losses due to enemy artillery fire. On Nov. 28, 1944,
most of the action took place north of Grosshau. According to records, Farris was wounded by artillery and left the front line
for the battalion aid station that day. His regiment remained in combat for several more days, reaching the outskirts of Gey,
Germany, before being pulled off the front line. When officers took an accounting of the surviving Company B soldiers,
Farris could not be found. The last any of the survivors knew was that he had tried to find an aid station. He was listed
missing in action when there was no update on his whereabouts.

DPAA is grateful the American Battle Monuments Commission for their partnership in this mission.

Interment services are pending; more details will be released 7-10 days prior to scheduled funeral services.

Farris’ name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, Netherlands,
an American Battle Monuments Commission site along with the other MIAs from WWII. Although interred as an "unknown"
his grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission.
A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

From the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency website

Funeral Announcement For World War II Soldier Killed During World War II (Farris, K.)
Release No: 18-096 July 2, 2018

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S.
serviceman, recently accounted-for from World War II, are being returned to his family for
burial with full military honors.

Army Pvt. Kenneth D. Farris, 19, of Dodson, Texas, accounted for on April 23, will be buried
July 9 in Dallas. In November 1944, Farris served with Company B, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th
Infantry Division. Farris’ unit arrived in the Hürtgen Forest in Germany on Nov. 9, 1944 and
immediately began preparing to advance eastward to the town of Grosshau. Despite continued
progress, the regiment’s Soldiers sustained heavy losses due to enemy artillery fire. On Nov.
28, 1944, Farris was wounded by artillery and left the front line for the battalion aid station.
His regiment remained in combat for several more days, reaching the outskirts of Gey, Germany,
before being pulled off the front line. When officers took an accounting of the surviving
Company B soldiers, Farris could not be found. The last any of the survivors knew was that he
had tried to find an aid station. He was listed missing in action when he could not be located.

Due to a lack of new information, Farris was declared deceased as of Nov. 29, 1945.

Between 1946 and 1950, dozens of unidentified remains were recovered from the Hürtgen Forest by
various graves registration units. In May 1946, members of the 6890th Quartermaster Graves
Registration Company of the American Graves Registration Command, recovered an unburied set of
remains in a minefield near Gey, Germany. The remains were designated as X-2762 Neuville and
interred at United States Military Cemetery Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium- present day Ardennes
American Cemetery. X-2762 was disinterred on Nov. 17, 1948 for reprocessing. When an
identification could not be made, they were interred at Epinal American Cemetery in France.
Because no remains had been associated with Farris, he was declared non-recoverable on Dec. 8, 1950.

Following thorough scientific and historical analysis by DPAA historians, X-2762 Neuville was
disinterred from the Epinal American Cemetery on July 27, 2017 and sent to DPAA for analysis.

To identify Farris’ remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System
used mitochondrial (mtDNA) DNA and Y-chromosome (Y-STR) DNA analysis, as well as
anthropological, and dental analysis, and material evidence.

DPAA is grateful the American Battle Monuments Commission for their partnership in this mission.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war.
Currently there are 72,906 service members (approximately 26,000 are assessed as possibly-
recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Farris’ name is recorded on the Tablets of
the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, Netherlands, an American Battle
Monuments Commission site along with the other MIAs from WWII. Although interred as an "unknown"
his grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments
Commission. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went
missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social
media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call (703) 699-1420/1169.

From the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency website

The remains of Kenneth D.Farris being transferred at Dallas airport

From the WFAA website

Welcome home banner for Kenneth D. Farris displayed by his family

From the WFAA website

Texas soldier killed in WWII identified and laid to rest in Dallas 7 decades later

Sara Coello, Breaking news reporter
Connect with Sara Coello

On what would've been his 92nd birthday, a Texas soldier who died in Germany at 19 was buried with full military honors in Dallas.

Army Pvt. Kenneth Dayle Farris had been laid to rest decades ago with other unnamed soldiers in Europe.
His remains were identified earlier this year and returned to Texas for funeral services Monday.

Farris was mortally wounded by artillery during the World War II Battle of Hürtgen Forest in November 1944. He was initially
declared missing in action, and his fellow soldiers said they last saw him searching for a first aid station. About a year later,
he was officially declared dead.

He was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said it used dental and DNA records to identify Farris. He was buried at
Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery.

Farris had left his Dodson home in the Panhandle as a teenager to serve in the infantry. He married his high school sweetheart,
Erma Lee Hunt, just a week before his departure.

Farris also left behind five siblings, including a then-4-year-old sister who said she's been writing a biography
of her brother but wasn't sure how to end it.

Judith Bingham, now 79, said she kept track of every soldier she could find from her brother's unit in hopes of piecing together his fate.

Other family members were relieved to finally be able to lay Farris to rest.

"If you know where something is, it ain't lost," Hunt's cousin Edwin Bonneau said. "Today, we finally know where Dayle is."

From Dallas News website

Members of the US Army Honor Guard fold an American flag that has wrapped over a casket of Army Pvt. Kenneth D. Farris
killed during World War II in Germany during a burial ceremony at Dallas-Forth Worth National Cemetery in Dallas, Monday, July 9, 2018.
Pvt. Farris has his remains identified on April 23, 2018. (Jae S. Lee/Staff Photographer)

From Dallas News website

Staff Sergeant Brentyn Bishop, left, presents an American flag to Judith Bingham, sister of US Army Pvt. Kenneth D. Farris
killed during World War II in Germany at a ceremony at Dallas-Forth Worth National Cemetery in Dallas, Monday, July 9, 2018.
Pvt. Farris had his remains identified on April 23, 2018. (Jae S. Lee/The Dallas Morning News) (Jae S. Lee/Staff Photographer)

From Dallas News website

BURIAL
Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery
Dallas, Dallas County, Texas
PLOT: SECTION 93 SITE 774

Grave marker for Kenneth D. Farris

Photo by Jay Johnson from the Find A Grave website

¹ From the Find A Grave website

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