Felix L. Sparks

Brigadier General Felix Laurence Sparks (August 2, 1917 – September 25, 2007) was a United States Army officer 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]

Felix L. Sparks
Born(1917-08-02)August 2, 1917
San Antonio, Texas
DiedSeptember 25, 2007(2007-09-25) (aged 90)
Denver, Colorado
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUnited States Army
Years of service1935-1945
RankBrigadier General
Commands held3rd Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsSilver Star
Purple Heart (2)
Other workColorado Supreme Court Justice
Colorado Army National Guard
Brigadier General

Early life

Born in San Antonio, Texas, on August 2, 1917, Sparks grew up in Miami, Arizona. He was the oldest of five children; his father worked for a copper mining company until it was closed in 1931. The Great Depression had begun. In 1933, his parents had to send him to an uncle in Arizona to earn his living there. In 1935, after unsuccessfully seeking jobs in the shipyards of Corpus Christi, Texas and San Francisco, he enlisted in the United States Army.[1]

World War II

After training at Fort Sill, Colonel Charles M. Anckorn (who had fought in Flanders during World War I) appointed Sparks to be his adjutant in 1941. In June 1942, Sparks married. One year later, the USS Charles Carroll brought him to Oran, a harbour in Algeria. In July, he took part in Operation Husky. 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]

Eight weeks past his 90th birthday, Sparks died in Colorado from complications due to pneumonia.[3]

See also

References
  1. "Felix Sparks" (PDF). echoesandreflections.org. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  2. 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)
  3. "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.
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