Sailor Carries on Military Tradition

0 Comments | US Navy Press Releases, Aug 08, 2002

. Sailor Carries on Military Tradition

By Journalist 2nd Class Paul Newell, USS George Washington Public Affairs

ABOARD USS GEORGE WASHINGTON, At Sea (NNS) -- In Ruby Webb Farmer's home there is a wall adorned with pictures of family members who have worn the uniform. Some wear U.S. Army greens, another wears Confederate gray. Some have fought for Gen. George Washington, others beside Gen. George Patton. They are the faces from the Webb and Farmer clans.

Today another face decorates Ruby's wall of family military lineage - that of USS George Washington's (CVN 73) Personnelman Derek Farmer. As GW is deployed to help fight the war on terrorism, he follows in footsteps familiar with service and sacrifice.

In 1616, Thomas Farmer came to America aboard the English passenger ship Tryall as an indentured servant. Thomas had to work years to repay his passage to the New World. Family records show that Farmer settled in Jamestown, Va., and was eventually granted his freedom and 50 acres of land by the governor. When he fought through and survived an Indian massacre in 1622, Farmer became the first of his American namesake to fight for his livelihood, though there would be many to follow.

Thomas Farmer's great-great-great grandson, Benjamin, also defended himself from an enemy - the British. Born in 1756 in Edgecombe County, N.C., Benjamin fought for the Edgecombe Militia during the Revolutionary War. "According to [family] legend, when Cornwallis passed through the area on his way to defeat at Yorktown, he paused at Benjamin's farm demanding food and supplies," said Farmer, who also hails from Edgecombe, N.C.

He said Benjamin's wife Elizabeth stoutly denied Cornwallis' request because her husband was away fighting with the colonial militia. Doubting her word and suspecting that Benjamin was hiding in the woods, the Redcoats searched the land, but saw only tiny woman-like footprints in the furrow of every field. "When they saw that, they believed her, and left her undisturbed," Farmer said.

On the Webb side of the family, William Franklin Webb, Farmer's great-great-great grandfather, served in Company I, North Carolina Defense troops during the Civil War and transferred to Company K, in 1863. Webb fought around Ft. Fisher, which successfully kept Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's battle lines open, if only for most of the war. When Fort Fisher fell after a massive federal amphibious assault on Jan. 15, 1865, its defeat helped seal the fate of the Confederacy. After Lee's surrender in April, Webb walked home from Goldsboro, N.C., carrying his gun. "It was his only means of survival," Farmer said about his grandfather's weapon. "It was more than a 60-mile walk for him to get home."

Another photo peering out at visitors to Mrs. Farmer's home is that of William's son and Farmer's great-great uncle, William Wiley Webb. Sadly in 1918 at age 29, he died in France of pneumonia during World War I, making his final resting place on a hillside in Raon L'Etape. An Army chaplain, T.G. Vickers, wrote Webb's grieving father, "He had won the esteem and confidence of all by his pleasant good nature and willingness. He did what he could for the great cause and you can well feel proud of him."

Farmer's grandfather, Oscar Farmer Sr. did what he could for his country, even if he didn't necessarily want to. As a soldier in Lt. Gen. George Patton's 10th Armored Corps during World War II, he carried out an order from Patton that would be portrayed in the 1970 movie "Patton." As the Third Army aggressively marched toward Germany, they came to a bridge and had to stop because something was blocking the convoy of troops from crossing. As the directive was handed down from Patton, Oscar was ordered by his captain to take a Jeep across the long bridge and find out what was causing the delay. Oscar did, and when he returned he told his captain that an old man and his donkey were slowly making their way across the bridge. Patton wouldn't wait.

Regrettably, Oscar had to follow the general's order, which would be something he would never forget. "He closed his eyes, floored the Jeep and pushed the cart, mule and old man off the bridge to clear it," Farmer said.

Though it wasn't a proud moment for Farmer's family, it didn't stop uncles, cousins and other relatives from serving in wars that followed the Second World War. Farmer's father served in the Air Force during Vietnam. Today, Farmer carries the torch. After the 25-year-old joined the Navy, he became the first face on Grandma's wall wearing cracker jacks.

And now he has produced another who may be called to serve one day, 5-year-old son, Rian. "I'm proud of my family's staying power," Farmer said. "We helped make North Carolina while nothing was there but trees, and my family has been a big part of shaping the greatness of our country. That's why I'll always stay there. It's my heritage. We have definitely done our part."

For more news from USS George Washington (CVN 73), go to their custom NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/cvn73.