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Forest Harness | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIndiana's5th district | |
| In office January 3, 1939 – January 3, 1949 | |
| Preceded by | Glenn Griswold |
| Succeeded by | John R. Walsh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1895-06-24)June 24, 1895 |
| Died | July 29, 1974(1974-07-29) (aged 79) |
| Resting place | Crown Point Cemetery |
| Political party | Republican |
Forest Arthur Harness (June 24, 1895 – July 29, 1974) was an American lawyer,World War I veteran, and politician who served five terms as aU.S. Representative fromIndiana from 1939 to 1949.
Born inKokomo, Indiana, Harness attended public schools and graduated in 1917 from the law department ofGeorgetown University,Washington, D.C. where he was a member of theDelta Chi fraternity.
He served overseas duringWorld War I as a first lieutenant, Three Hundred and Nineteenth Infantry from 1917 to 1919, for which he was awarded thePurple Heart. He served as captain in the Infantry Reserve,United States Army from 1920 to 1949.
He was admitted to theDistrict of Columbia bar in 1917, as well as to the Indiana bar in 1919, and commenced practice inKokomo, Indiana. He was serving asprosecuting attorney ofHoward County, Indiana from 1920 to 1924, and as special assistant to theAttorney General of the United States from 1931 to 1935, when he resigned to resume private practice.
Harness was elected as aRepublican to theSeventy-sixth and to the four succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1939 – January 3, 1949).
In September 1944, Harness claimed on the House floor that the Australian government warned Washington (prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor) that a Japanese aircraft carrier was bound for Hawaii and that this information was withheld from the commanders at Pearl Harbor.Rumors of this sort had been around for a while, but Harness's charges put them in the public record.[1]
He served as chairman of the Select Committee on theFederal Communications Commission (Eightieth Congress). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1948 to theEighty-first Congress, at which point he resumed the practice of law.
He served asSergeant at Arms of the United States Senate from January 3, 1953, to January 3, 1955. He retired in 1960 and resided inSarasota, Florida, where he died. He isentombed in the mausoleum at Crown Point Cemetery,Kokomo, Indiana.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIndiana's 5th congressional district 1939 - 1949 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Joseph C. Duke | Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate 1953 - 1955 | Succeeded by Joseph C. Duke |
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
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