★★★ Memorial Monday ★★★
LT Tristram Farmer, USN '88 was lost on July 31, 1992 when the E-2C Hawkeye aircraft he was aboard crashed while on approach to USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67), operating in the Atlantic Ocean north of Puerto Rico. Four others aboard were also killed; they were members of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 126.
From the December 1992 edition of Shipmate:
Tris truly loved the Navy and being a Naval Aviator. His extensive correspondence with friends and family let us join him on his many adventures which ranged from serving in the Mediterranean immediately after Desert Storm to "touring" the single malt distilleries of Scotland. Never one to shun hard work or a good time, Tris was a good and devoted friend to all who knew him. He was one of a kind, the kind of person we will all remember fondly. He returned frequently to his house on Barter's Island in Trevett, Maine, to tend his traditional British rose garden and care for the family's Newfoundland dogs. Though not a "Mainer" by birth, he was proud beyond measure of his adopted state and its people and profoundly grateful for their support and encouragement during his naval career. The grief and sadness of his death overwhelms those of us who were fortunate to have our lives touched by Tris. We cannot measure the loss of Tris's presence now; it will only be fully known as we think of all the things that he did that we miss. He was so much to so many people.
Lt. Farmer, born in New York City 27 May 1966, lived in New York, Massachusetts and Maine. He graduated from St. Mark's School in Southborough, Mass., before entering the Naval Academy with the Class of 1988. Tristram was a member of the 20th Company. While at the Academy Tris, a history major, was Fourth Battalion Operations Officer, a winner of the National Society, Colonial Daughters of the Seventeenth Century History Prize, Biographies Editor of the 1988 Lucky Bag, Production Editor of the Trident Calendar, President of the History Club, a member of Phi Alpha Theta, and a connoisseur of fine wines.
After commissioning Tris attended flight school in Pensacola and, upon earning his Wings of Gold as a Naval Flight Officer, he was assigned to Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 122. He served aboard the aircraft carrier FORRESTAL, taking part in operations supporting Kurdish refugees in Iraq in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War. He was transferred to Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 126 in May 1992. Lt. Farmer was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, National Defense Service Medal and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.
Tris is survived by his mother, Enid Farmer of Trevett, Maine; and his brothers Thomas of Arlington, Va., and Terence of Northfield, Mass.
To Honor! ⚓
https://usnamemorialhall.org/index.php/TRISTRAM_E._FARMER,_LT,_USN