Felix L. Sparks
![]() | This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2021) |
Felix L. Sparks | |
---|---|
Born | San Antonio, Texas | August 2, 1917
Died | September 25, 2007 Denver, Colorado | (aged 90)
Allegiance | ![]() |
Service/ | ![]() |
Years of service | 1935–1945 |
Rank | ![]() |
Commands held | 3rd Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards | Silver Star Purple Heart (2) |
Other work | Colorado Supreme Court Justice Colorado Army National Guard |
Felix Laurence Sparks (August 2, 1917 – September 25, 2007) was a Brigadier General in the United States Army who, during World War II, commanded the 3rd Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, one of the first Allied forces to enter Dachau concentration camp and liberate its prisoners. He later served on the Colorado Supreme Court.[1]
Early life[]
On August 2, 1917, Sparks was born in San Antonio, Texas, as the oldest of five children. His father worked in a copper mine, and he grew up fairly poor and spent his days hunting to ensure his family could eat. In 1931, the company that his father worked for closed due to the Great Depression. In 1933, his parents sent him to Arizona to live with his uncle.[1]
Sparks spent a while traveling around by hopping trains and looking for work but was incapable of finding a job due to the Great Depression. As a result, he joined the military in San Francisco.[1]
World War II[]
Sparks trained in Honolulu and made a job out of developing photo films for other soldiers, then left to do three years of law school, before he was called back into active duty, and sent to Fort Sill in Oklahoma where he joined the 157th Infantry Regiment of the 45th Infantry Division, nicknamed the Thunderbirds. They were known for being one of the most diverse groups because they allowed Native Americans and Mexican Americans to join the infantry, and the group was not segregated, unlike most other regiments.
He was temporarily put in charge of company J, also known as the "Jailbird Company" due to its concentration of soldiers who had gone AWOL. He was in charge of getting them to pass their live-fire test, and his support led to the passing. Colonel Charles M. Ankcorn made Sparks his adjutant, a job that he did not enjoy as he wanted to fight.
When he was in law school, he met a woman named Mary Blair, and the two began to date. He proposed to Mary in 1942, and she would get pregnant soon after. The two traveled together for a short time until he was shipped overseas; Mary was still pregnant when he shipped out, meaning Felix would not get to meet his son until almost three years later. In July, he took part in Operation Husky (the Allied invasion of Sicily). While in Sicily, there was an opening for a command position in company E; he requested Ankcorn allow him to take the position, but Ankcorn denied the request. Approximately a week later, a livid Ankcorn confronted Sparks about company E failing their live fire test and told him that if he could get them to pass the test then he could be permanently transferred to company E. Sparks eventually discovered the company's struggles were related to animosity aimed at their previous captain, and he would successfully help them pass.
Later, he was the only survivor of his unit in the Battle of Anzio. He took part in Operation Dragoon, which liberated southern France and advanced very quickly. He also took part in the hostilities in the Vosges and in the Battle of Aschaffenburg. The television show The Liberator[2] was based on his command of the 3rd Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment. In a ten-year active duty army career, Sparks rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Post-war years[]
Upon returning to civilian life, Sparks attended the University of Colorado Law School, graduating in 1947. After opening a law practice in Delta, Colorado, he was elected district attorney there, running as the Democratic Party candidate. Following his reelection loss in 1952, Governor Ed Johnson appointed Sparks to fill an unexpired term on the Colorado Supreme Court. At the end of that term, he returned to his law practice in Delta. He was also in the Colorado Army National Guard, notably during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and, between 1968 and 1979, he served as its commander, retiring with the rank of brigadier general.[1]
On September 25, 2007, eight weeks past his 90th birthday, Sparks died in Colorado from complications due to pneumonia.[3]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Felix Sparks" (PDF). echoesandreflections.org. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^ The Liberator (Animation, Action, Drama, War), Bradley James, Martin Sensmeier, Jose Miguel Vasquez, Billy Breed, Real Folk Productions, Unique Features, Trioscope, 2020-11-11, retrieved 2020-11-13CS1 maint: others (link)
- ^ "Allied war crimes during World War II". ww2gravestone.com. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- Beuchner, Emajean Jordan (1991). Sparks. Metairie, LA: Thunderbird Press, Inc.
- Alex Kershaw (2012). "The Liberator: One World War II Soldier's 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau". New York, NY: Crown Publishers.
External links[]
- McClearn, William C. "An Oral History: Felix L. Sparks", The Colorado Lawyer, October 1998
- "DACHAU AND ITS LIBERATION: Personal account by Felix L. Sparks Brigadier General, AUS (Retired)
- Sheeler, Jim. "One Last Honor", Rocky Mountain News, March 10, 2007
- Clips from the 1990 documentary "The Liberation of KZ Dachau"; includes interview with Felix Sparks
- Farragher, Thomas. "Vengeance at Dachau", Boston Globe, July 2, 2001
- Felix Sparks at Find a Grave
- 1917 births
- 2007 deaths
- United States Army personnel of World War II
- American prosecutors
- Colorado state court judges
- Justices of the Colorado Supreme Court
- Deaths from pneumonia
- Infectious disease deaths in Colorado
- People from Miami, Arizona
- People from San Antonio
- United States Army generals
- 20th-century American judges
- People from Delta, Colorado