Paris, Tenn.–Paris Author Shannon McFarlin was the speaker at Friday’s “Lunch and Learn” at the Henry County Heritage Center and a large crowd was on hand for the event.
Using archival photographs on a power point presentation, McFarlin spoke about the unheralded bravery of the members of the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, the only all-African-American military unit at the D-Day invasion during World War II. The soldiers of the 320th were trained at Camp Tyson which was located a few miles outside of Routon and was the only barrage balloon training facility in the United States.
The 320th had largely been forgotten by history until publication of McFarlin’s 2016 book, McFarlin’s 2016 book “As if They Were Ours: The Story of Camp Tyson- America’s Only Barrage Balloon Training Facility” and the follow-up pictorial history “Images of America: Camp Tyson”.
McFarlin recounted interviews she conducted with members of the 320th and spoke of their training and D-Day experiences. McFarlin painted a vivid picture of life in Paris during WWII, including the local marriages that began during the war, including those of Mary Will and Oscar Gardner; Joy Randle and Aaron Dobbs, Sr.; and Joseph and Elizabeth Diggs Harden; and the experiences local soldiers had at churches such as Barr’s Chapel.
Photo by Cash Caldwell.