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When 106-year-old Pearl Harbor veteran Vaughn P. Drake recently passed away and was buried in Winchester Cemetery, it made others realize the sacrifices of what some have called “The Greatest Generation.” 

At Thomson-Hood Veterans Center in Wilmore, one member of that generation with Clark County connections – Mr. Frank Farmer – resides at age 98. 

Farmer recently took time to reflect on personal memories and lessons learned and offer some insight for the generations that have come after him. 

As a child, Farmer endured the plight many did when he came up during the Great Depression. 

“It was a tough time,” said Farmer, a Virginia native. “We had a big family and had to provide for all of them, and we all had to work out and help out in the business.” 

Born during Calvin Coolidge’s administration, Farmer has seen 17 U.S. Presidents grace the White House. 

The one that stands out most is the one that many only learn about from the history books. 

“The one I remember most, of course, was Roosevelt because all of my [military] stuff was done under his guidance,” Farmer said. 

Today, he is the lone member of his ship – the USS LCS(L) – remaining, though he helped organize reunions for many years. 

As a man with a strong military background, Farmer has fond memories of his U.S. Navy crewmates, some of which involve hijinks they would get into. 

One such example is when they tried smuggling whiskey on board, only to be caught by a senior officer. 

“He said, ‘I’ll tell you what I [will] do. You boys are in a heap of trouble. You get over [there] and look out to sea…and I’m going to stand over here in my position…I want to hear at least four splashes of whiskey going overboard in the bottle,” stated Farmer, remembering that the officer soon turned his back. 

Hinting that a punchline was soon to come, Farmer continued his story. 

“We didn’t happen to have four bottles, but I got a hold of my shoes and dropped one over, then dropped the other oneover,” he added. “One of the other guys…dropped one of his…and the man heard him. He said, ‘All right now, you’re dismissed.’” 

While time spent in the military created strong memories, it was not without sacrifice. 

Farmer saw action largely in the Pacific and actually witnessed the raising of the American flag on Iwo Jima, captured in an iconic photo by Joe Rosenthal. 

He even knew one of the flag raisers – Franklin Sousley – who would sadly later lose his life in combat. 

On one occasion, Farmer injured his back when he fell backward and had his feet caught in the rungs of a ladder. 

There were plenty of other close calls as well. 

Farmer was asked if he had ever seen enemy planes approaching the USS LCS(L). 

“Many, many times. Sometimes there was a swarm. Sometimes it was just one,” he responded. “When they made an attack, they’d try to follow through on it, crash into your ship, and blow it up. You figured there was no stopping them. If you don’t shoot them down, they [will] get you…we had that happen several times over [a] period of months.” 

Farmer also remembered helping others during his time, including a pair of soldiers stranded in raging waters that he and his shipmates rescued. 

“One of them had a brand-spanking new [knife] that you put on the end of the rifle…I said, ‘Man, I’d love to have one of them.’ He said, ‘Take it! I can get another one anytime,” Farmer recalled. 

Though he never saw the soldier again, Farmer kept the knife as a memento and held it as he told the story nearly 80 years later. 

Farmer states he hopes people in today’s military will learn from the past. 

“I’d like for them to learn more about the war that we had…so they [will] be prepared for the next one,” he said. “We [were] fighting Germany and Japan…[in] the next century, there might be another battle. They’re developing…stronger, more complex [systems], and they’re going to try it out on somebody because they all want to be running the whole world.” 

After the war, though he returned to the military for some time, Farmer adjusted to civilian life. 

He first worked in the feed business—eventually being elevated to master feed advisor—before transitioning into auto sales, where he became highly respected in the field. 

Yet perhaps his biggest source of pride and joy is his family. 

Farmer has been married to his wife, Mary, for 77 years. 

They did so on December 27, 1947, shortly after the war ended.

When asked what advice he had for young couples, Farmer provided some words. 

“It’s what you make it; a two-way thing [between] two people,” he said. “A lot of them don’t make it because one goes this way and one goes that way.” 

Now a father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, Farmer provided additional reflection. 

“I’m in a new world now,” he said.