Francis William Farrell

Farrell was born on May 28, 1900, in Chicago, Illinois.[1][2]

At West Point in 1920

He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1920.[3] Initially assigned to the infantry branch, General Farrell graduated from the Infantry Officer Course in 1921.[4] He then served in several infantry assignments, including postings to Hawaii and China.[5][6] In 1928, General Farrell transferred to the Field Artillery branch. He completed the Field Artillery Officer Course in 1928.[7]

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, he was an instructor at West Point.[8] he graduated from the Command and General Staff College in 1939.[9]

From 1942 to 1944, Farrell served in the Pacific Theater as chief of staff of the 11th Airborne Division.[10][11] He commanded the 11th Airborne Division Artillery from 1944 to 1946.[12]

After World War II, Farrell was assigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina as commander of the 13th Airborne Division Artillery.[13] In mid-1946, Farrell was named chief of staff of the 82nd Airborne Division.[14] He served in this assignment for only a few months before being appointed as chief of the Air Branch at Army Ground Forces, where he remained from late 1946 until 1948.[15] Farrell was named director of the Technical Training Group at Sandia Missile Base, New Mexico in 1948.[16][17][18]

From 1950 to 1951, he was commander of the Korean Military Advisory Group, responsible for training and logistical support to the fledgling South Korean Army.[19][20][21]

In 1952, Farrell was assigned as deputy assistant chief of staff for operations on the Army Staff, serving until 1953.[22][23] He commanded the 82nd Airborne Division from 1953 to 1955.[24] In 1955, he was assigned as special assistant for national security affairs, advising the Joint Chiefs of Staff.[25][26] General Farrell was named to command V Corps in 1957, serving until 1959.[27][28][29][30] In 1959, General Farrell was assigned as commander of the Seventh United States Army, remaining in this post until he reached retirement age in 1960.[31][32]

After retiring from the Army in 1960,[33][34][35] General Farrell was appointed as New York State's Civil Defense Director, serving from 1961 to 1963.[36][37][38]

In retirement, he resided in Arlington, Virginia, where he died on January 27, 1981.[2] He was buried in Section 30 of Arlington National Cemetery.[39]

Farrell had married Anne Ramsey (December 27, 1909 – May 20, 2011) on July 15, 1931 at West Point, New York.[40] The couple had a son, a daughter and six grandchildren.[41] Their son Francis William Farrell Jr. (born October 5, 1938) is a 1960 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy who served in Vietnam[42] and attained the rank of colonel.[41] After Lt. Gen. Farrell's death, Anne Farrell remarried in April 1982 with retired General James Edward Moore,[43] whose first wife had died in September 1976.[41] Anne Farrell Moore was interred next to her first husband on September 6, 2011.[44]

His awards and decorations included two Distinguished Service Medals, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, two awards of the Bronze Star, and two Air Medals.[45][46]

• Arlington National Cemetery
• Generals of World War II