Individual Details

Military

I drove the truck out into the ocean, hung a wire to provide tension on the pole to keep it up so they could have communication during the storm. A Second Lieutenant wanted to court martial me for driving the truck into the ocean. I told him McArthur would probably take a dim view of that, me keeping communications open.

I graduated from Kerrville (Tivy) High School when I was 17 years old, too young to join the armed services. I signed up for Civil Service training for six months. On my 18th birthday, I went back to Kerrville and joined the Army.

I was always interested in the Signal Corps. I had studied the courses in electronics and radio while in the Civil Service. In the Signal Corps we built communication and information support for McArthur and Nimitz. I was with the same team all the way through the war. We provided teletype and radio for all the troops. We built tall towers to set up the messaging center. I drove the truck that had the boom on it and hung huge curtains to bring in distant signals. Once there was a big storm that came in and started to wash out beneath the support service poles on the beach. I drove the truck out into the ocean, hung a wire to provide tension on the pole to keep it up so they could have communication during the storm. A Second Lieutenant wanted to court martial me for driving the truck into the ocean. I told him McArthur would probably take a dim view of that, me keeping communications open. They did have to replace the engine, though.

I got overseas in 1943. Half the time we didn’t know where we were; you couldn’t find where we were on a map. They would tell us to establish communications on an island, then we’d go to the next island, then another island, and then another one, doing the same thing.

We lived out of a barracks bag—everything we owned crammed in there. Sometimes we pitched tents, sometimes we didn’t. Sometimes we had folding cots, sometimes we didn’t. I tried to keep a pillow to help sleep. We didn’t need cover as it was 100 degrees night and day. I got yellow jaundice and malaria. Malaria killed as many men as the war did. We didn’t have a hospital, just a medic. We asked him what to do, he said just stay alive. I weighed 180 when I got it. I lost 60 pounds because I couldn’t eat. I was told to drink a lot of water; that kept me alive. Every day was so bad. They were all the worst days. When Japan signed the peace treaty, we went wild. I think we lost our minds trying to celebrate.

It took 39 days going over, because of the zig zagging every 30 seconds. I was sick the whole time. I came back in January of 1946. They wanted to keep me. I said no way, I’m through with it. I’m going home.

I had a few different jobs, then went to school and entered the Methodist preaching ministry. When I was little I thought I wanted to be a preacher. I worked at Travis Park Methodist Church as the General Manager in charge of staff and building, and worked sales at Sunset Funeral Home for a while. After that, I was old enough to retire, so I did.

I was asked the other day, would I do it again, would I go into the service? I’d so do anything for my country.

https://www.dclarkeevans.com/portfolio/furr-collin-army-signal-corp/

Death

Remembering Collin Furr: 100 Years of patriotism and purpose 1942
Tivy graduate and World War II veteran, Collin T. Furr passed away April 22 at Audie Murphy in San Antonio, due to kidney failure. The day Furr and seven buddies attended a school assembly, December 8, 1941, when then President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war, they all enlisted. However, Furr’s mother did not want him to fight for his country until first he finished high school. Furr had fond memories of Tivy and even some crazy stories to share with his family during his 100th birthday party last December. He even shared some old newspaper clippings that had been found with little vignettes of Furr’s high school days, uncovering secrets untold. On Nov. 13, 1941, the Kerrville Daily Times wrote about an absence Furr had from study hall, stating “ABSENTEES – (another student) and Collin Furr seem to find greener fields during study hall.” But not to worry, apparently the Kerrville Mountain Sun had his back, because on Dec. 11, 1941, the paper published, “STUDIOUS – Have you ever observed Collin Furr? He is one of the few people in his study hall who gets something done. He is continually reading, and he looks like he takes it all in.” Then Dec. 23, 1943, the Times published his picture stating “PFC Collin T. Furr of Hunt has been serving in the Signal Corps in Australia for the past several months. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Furr.” At his 100th birthday party, Furr was asked about the Tivy motto Tivy Fight Never Dies, or “TFND.” Although he was not sure when it originated, he did say “Tivy had the TFND motto back then when I was there.” After graduation back in 1942, Furr had not returned to the school until the November 2024 Veteran’s ceremony, saying “The Spirit of the Tivy Antlers shines on today, just as it was back then.” He was also very proud of how respectful the students were and how they showed such patriotism. Furr joined the Army Signal Corp and worked in communications. When asked at his 100th birthday if he knew he graduated from the same high school as Admiral Chester Nimitz, Furr quickly said, “Yes, but he is much older than me, he was already an admiral when I graduated from high school.” In fact, Nimitz was promoted to the rank of Admiral Dec. 31, 1941, some 23 days after Furr heard Roosevelt declare war from the Tivy gym. “I worked in a group that did communications for Nimitz and General Douglas McArthur and would set up meetings for them,” Furr said. “We traveled to all the islands with them.” After boot camp Furr was shipped off to Australia. As part of his work with Nimitz and McArthur, Furr said, “I traveled to all the islands for them.” Furr recalled a time when his troop landed in “a not so good place and we were being fired on.” He said they sought cover in some fox holes they found, until the water started coming up and they had to leave. He described the ammunition from those shells and pinpointed that situation down as “when I started losing my hearing.” Another story Furr recalled was also when he was in the South Pacific and had been treated for malaria. He said their uniforms were treated and to avoid getting them wet from the time they got off the boat to the time they walked to shore, soldiers removed their uniforms and held them above the water. As Furr walked to the shore, he looked over and noticed a journalist with them. He explained that during the war journalists would join them and record footage and write stories, then they would return the information back to America and it was often shown before movies at local theaters. “All I could think was mom is going to be at the movies one day and see this and think, oh dear, what is that boy doing walking naked on the beach,” Furr said. Thankfully, his fear never came to fruition. In 1946 he returned from the war and attended then Schreiner College. In 1949 he became a Methodist Minister, serving with the United Methodist Church in Texas and Wyoming, before returning to Texas to preach until his retirement. In December, at his 100th birthday party speaking with his children, Furr was asked how many grandchildren and great grandchildren he had. His children looked to him for the answer. Furr quickly said he had six children, 24 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren, along with a dozen great-great grandchildren. His children said he was “always a very involved parent,” bringing home things for them like giant coloring books and harmonicas. He would even go to the hotel and pay for them to have an afternoon playing in the pool, something they didn’t realize he paid for until they were older. At his birthday party Furr recalled a time when his high school class was on a field trip, but Furr and one of his buddies weren’t interested in the field trip and had other plans. The two realized the bus driver was focused on the field trip, even after arriving, so Furr said, “my buddy and I grabbed some peanuts and took the school bus to Schreiner Park.” He recalled they had an enjoyable afternoon before returning to the field trip site. By the time the two returned with the school bus, the superintendent was there with an expulsion letter. He chuckled at the recollection, and said his parents took care of it, not going into detail regarding what he the punishment included. He said he was 16 at the time. “It’s been an interesting life,” Furr said at his last birthday party. Furr’s funeral will be held at 1:30 p.m. on June 16 at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. There will be a reception following at the Helotes Veterans of Foreign Hall located at 8795 FM 1560 in San Antonio.
The Kerrville Daily Times, Kerrville, Texas, May 24, 2025