Capt. John Alton Farrington (ASN 18026638; O-663881) was born on April 2, 1917 in Canon City, Fremont, Colorado. His father, William Grove Farrington, was born and raised in Minnesota. His mother, Hilda Dorothea “Thea” Carlson, was born and raised in Colorado. His father was a rancher who later worked in state and federal jobs. John was the oldest of his parent’s five children. He had two younger brothers and two younger sisters.

As he was growing up John moved with his family to several different counties in Colorado as his father accepted more jobs with the state government. John was living in Buena Vista, Chaffee, Colorado when he graduated from high school in 1935. After graduation, John went to the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado where he graduated in 1940. He was living in Buena Vista, Colorado when he was registered for the draft on October 16, 1940. John enlisted in the Army Air Corps on January 13, 1942 at Lowry Field in Denver, Colorado.

John started training as a pilot. By July 1942, he was attending the Advanced Flying School at the Reese Air Base in Lubbock, Texas. On July 30, 1942 John married fellow UC alumnus, Betty Evelyn Wilson, in Lubbock, Texas. In September 1942, John had earned his wings as 2nd Lieutenant. He was honorably discharged on September 5, 1942 and appointed to the Air Reserve. On September 6, 1942 John accepted and entered active duty.

In October 1942, he was assigned to the 531st Bomb Squadron of the 380th Bombardment Group (H) and stationed in Tucson, Arizona. He moved to Biggs Field, Texas in December, and then to Lowry Air Field in Denver, Colorado. In April 1943, he went overseas as part of the Fifth Air Force.

The 380th Bomb Group arrived at Fenton Airfield in western Australia in May 1943. The Group was assigned to the RAAF Base Darwin and based at Manbulloo Field in northern Australia with the sole purpose of destroying Japanese strongholds in the Pacific. By this time, John was now Capt. John A. Farrington and he had his own crew. He primarily flew the B-24D (#42-40485), nicknamed “Fyrtle Myrtle”. Capt. Farrington completed his first mission with “Fyrtle Myrtle” over enemy territory on July 18, 1943 when he bombed the port city of Mafassar in Indonesia. By October 17, 1943 he had completed nine missions.

On October 26, 1943 the “Fyrtle Myrtle” B-24D piloted by Capt. Farrington took off from Manbulloo Field on a mission to bomb the port city of Pomelaa in Indonesia. On board the aircraft were a total of eleven crewmen. As the aircraft approached the target, she was attacked by enemy fighters from the front and below. Tracers were seen entering the nose turret, bomb bay doors, and left wing. Engine #2 caught fire and flames were coming from the bomb bay. As the plane turned left, the last message from Capt. Farrington was “Go on home boys, you can’t help me now.” After the message, eight parachutes from the plane were seen to open. The plane continued to fly until both wings collapsed upward. The B-24D fell and exploded about 200’ above the water about five miles from the coast. Capt. John A. Farrington and two others were officially declared dead the day of the mission. Two other crewmen did not survive the jump. The other six crewmen were captured by the Japanese and placed in POW camps. The five crewmen who perished are listed below:

Capt. John A. Farrington - Pilot

T/Sgt James C. DeGroat - Engineer

S/Sgt Louis J. Glavan - Gunner

S/Sgt Daniel R. Glendon - Gunner

1Lt. John L. Perry - Bombardier

Capt. John A. Farrington was awarded the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and Air Medal. His name is on the Wall of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in Manila, Capital District, Philippines. He also has a grave marker at the Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado. He was survived by his widow, Betty, and his son, John Arthur, who was born two months after his father’s death. He was also survived by his parents and his four siblings. His brother, William Grove, served in the Army in WWII, and his brother, Donald Bruce, served in the Navy during WWII. His brother, William, married Capt. Farrington’s widow, Betty, in about 1946.

Sources:

1920 United States Federal Census

1930 United States Federal Census

1940 United States Federal Census

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52005991/john-alton-farrington

https://www.abmc.gov/decedent-search/farrington%3Djohn-1

http://380th.org/380-History.html

http://380th.org/HISTORY/All-Aircraft-byName.htm

https://pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/b-24/42-40485.html

http://380th.org/HISTORY/PARTV/MR/MR42-40485-006.htm

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.

John A Farrington