Major Lon MacFarland, of Columbia, Tenn., was a native Tennessean whose ancestor arrived at Fort Nashboro by boat in 1780. A distinguished attorney in Columbia, he distinguished himself in World War II where he and three fellow officers in the 5th Armored Division were the first American soldiers to enter Berlin.
MacFarland served as an intelligence officer in the 5th Armored Division of the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of major. His Armored Division, under the command of Major General Lunsford E. Oliver, landed on Utah Beach on July 24, 1944. It went on to cross the Mayonne River and capture the city of LeMans on Aug. 8. Passing through Paris, on Aug. 30, the 5th Armored Division liberated the City of Luxembourg on Sept. 10 and was the first American unit to enter Germany, crossing the Rhine at Wesel on March 30, 1945. They reached the banks of the Elbe at Tangermunde on April 12, only 45 miles from Berlin. The 5th Armored Division was poised to cross the Elbe and capture Berlin. However, orders came from high command to not cross the Elbe as a decision had been made to let the Russians capture Berlin. Disappointed, Major MacFarland and three other officers decided, several days later, to cross the Elbe with several Russian translators and go see Berlin for themselves. So they got a couple of jeeps and crossed the Elbe. In the middle of the river, they encountered a Russian boat. MacFarland told one of the translators to hail the Russians and say “Welcome from the U.S. Army.” A Russian officer responded “You don’t have to speak Russian, I went to the City College of New York.”
MacFarland’s party got to Berlin on May 5 three days after the Germans surrendered the city, and spent the afternoon seeing various sites. They were the first American soldiers to enter Berlin. At some point, Russian soldiers escorted them to Russian Army headquarters where they and senior Russian officers made many toasts with vodka. Deciding that it was time to get back to the American lines, MacFarland and his crew did so that evening. On their way across the Elbe, they saw that Russian soldiers were blowing up an ammunition dump. So, the Americans stopped and enjoyed the fireworks before continuing across the river, Major MacFarland was never remanded for his unauthorized excursion. Instead, he was awarded the Russian Red Star. For his outstanding service, he was also awarded the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, and the Croix de Guere by the French government.
After the war, Lon MacFarland returned to Columbia where he was an attorney. He was a president of the Tennessee Bar Association and the chairman of the board of the Middle Tennessee Bank in Columbia. Years later, my wife Irene and I attended a reception at his home on West Seventh Street for his daughter, Perre Coleman.