Geoffrey Cheney Ferris

Geoffrey Cheney Ferris (April 8, 1918 – May 7, 1943) was a United States Army soldier during World War II who received the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions as a Forward Observer during Operation Torch near Beja, Tunisia. Ferris Barracks in Erlangen, Germany, was named in his honor in 1949. Early life and education Geoffrey Cheney Ferris was born on April 8, 1918, in New Haven, Connecticut. He was the youngest of four children born to Walter Lewis Ferris and Alice Josephine Cheney. He attended the Roxbury School (now Cheshire Academy) in Cheshire, Connecticut. Next to his photograph in his high school yearbook is printed "None but himself can be his parallel". Career Prior to joining the Army, Ferris joined the Connecticut National Guard as a private on September 19, 1940. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant on February 24, 1941, holding that grade until his separation on December 4, 1941. Ferris enlisted in the Army as a private on January 23, 1942, at Hartford, Connecticut. After Officer Candidate School Class 23-42 at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and served as an artillery observer assigned to the 6th Battalion, 33rd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Infantry Division. On the morning of May 6, 1943, Lieutenant Ferris reported to Company E, 26th Infantry Regiment. Seeing that it was impossible to secure a suitable observation post in the area occupied by Company E, Lieutenant Ferris, carrying a field phone and wire reel, advanced several hundred yards beyond the front lines before being mortally wounded by enemy fire. He died the next day. Initially interred in Tunisia, he was re-interred at the Long Island National Cemetery in New York. Lieutenant Ferris was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions. Distinguished Service Cross Citation The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Second Lieutenant (Field Artillery) Geoffrey C.