Remain in School

Written by: Kelly Durham

College seniors generally find themselves looking ahead to the next phase of their lives—where they will live and what kind of job they will have.  As Clemson’s Class of 1943 began its final semester, most of the young men knew that the next phase of their lives would be spent in military uniforms.  What they were unsure of was just how quickly that next phase would begin.

As Americans were fighting the Germans and Italians in North Africa and the Japanese in New Guinea and at Guadalcanal, the headline in The Tiger on January 7, 1943, reported that Juniors and Seniors would remain in school until the end of the semester and would then be called to active duty.  That meant that George Harmon Fairey of Kingstree and his classmates would be allowed to finish their degrees and graduate before swapping cadet gray for Army khaki.

Harmon Fairey was a dairy major and an honors student.  He was a member of Alpha Zeta, the national agriculture honor fraternity.  He flew with the Flying Cadets, marched with both the Junior and Senior Platoons, and socialized with the Williamsburg County Club.  In the Cadet Brigade, Fairey served as a first lieutenant.  He graduated on May 24, 1943, and then awaited his orders to report for active duty.

Fairey entered active duty on August 4.  He was ordered to Officers’ Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia.  Next, he was assigned to Fort Blanding, Florida where he trained Japanese-American soldiers.  In August 1944, Fairey shipped overseas.  He was assigned to a tank battalion in France at a time when American and Allied forces were advancing rapidly toward the east and the German frontier.  On the final day of September, Second Lieutenant Fairey was killed in action.

Second Lieutenant George Harmon Fairey was awarded the Purple Heart.  He was survived by his wife, the former Bernice Tucker, his parents, two brothers, and three sisters.  After the war, Fairey’s remains were returned to Kingstree and buried in the Williamsburg Presbyterian Cemetery.

For more information on George Harmon Fairey see:

https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll/george-harmon-fairey/

For additional information about Clemson University’s Scroll of Honor visit:

https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/