Denzil Garrison (November 20, 1926 – January 15, 2018) was an American attorney and politician who served in the

Oklahoma Legislature The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate are the two houses that make up the bicameral state legislature. There are 101 ...

from 1957 to 1974. He was a member of the Republican Party.

Early life and family

Denzil "Denny" Doss Garrison, was born on November 20, 1926, in

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, 3rd most populous city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,026 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the most populous city and the county seat of Clevel ...

, to Nita Ellen Smith and Joseph Don Garrison Sr. His father was a

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

veteran and the Norman Public Schools superintendent while his mother was a piano teacher. He attended Jefferson Grade School and Norman Junior High School. When his father was enlisted during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he transferred to Columbus High School in Georiga, but he returned to Norman to graduate from

Norman High School Norman High School is a four-year Public school (government funded), public high school in Norman, Oklahoma, with a steady enrollment of approximately 2,000 students. It is accredited by North Central Association, the Oklahoma State Department ...

in 1944. Despite an offer to play football at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

, Garrison initially enlisted in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

in March 1945 and he was accepted into

Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and Enlisted rank, enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a Commission (document), commission as Commissioned officer, officers in the armed forces of a country. H ...

Military career and education

After graduation he was sent to Europe on the '' USS Lejeune'' with the 9th Infantry Division to staff post-

occupations, where he was stationed in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. After a year in Germany, he attended the

before attending the

University of Oklahoma College of Law The University of Oklahoma College of Law is the law school of the University of Oklahoma. It is located on the University's campus in Norman, Oklahoma. The College of Law was founded in 1909 by a resolution of the OU Board of Regents. Accordi ...

. In 1950, during his senior year of law school, he was called back to service for the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

and shipped on the '' USS General William Weigel''. He spent a year in Korea and wrote ''Remembrances of a Redleg'' about his experience. After returning from Korea, he finished law school with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

Career

Garrison started his legal career working for City Service Oil Company in Bartlesville before entering private practice with Charles Selby. In 1954, he filed as a Republican to run for county attorney of Washington County against the incumbent

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

James H. Laughlin. He won the election and served for two years before being elected to succeed Carl W. Staats in the

Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's ...

Oklahoma House

Staats convinced Garrison to run to succeed him and he was elected without opposition. During his tenure, he testified in a federal lawsuit that eventually led to an order by Judge Frederick Alvin Daugherty to reapportion the

Oklahoma Senate The Oklahoma Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the other being the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of senators is set at 48 by the Oklahoma Constitution. After serving two terms in the state house, he was succeeded by C. W. Doornbos. While in the house, he served as minority leader.

Oklahoma Senate

Garrison was elected to the 34th senate district and took office in 1961, succeeding Frank Mahan. In 1965, he was redistricted to the 29th district, where he replaced John C. Wilkerson Jr. In

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, he ran for

Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district is one of five United States congressional districts in Oklahoma and covers approximately one-fourth of the state in the east. The district borders Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas and includes (in who ...

, but lost to Ed Edmondson. He served in that district until he retired in 1973. He was succeeded by Jerry T. Pierce. While in the senate, he served as minority leader. In 1974, he ran for

Governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma Executive (government), executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The gover ...

, but lost the Republican primary to

Jim Inhofe James Mountain Inhofe (; ; November 17, 1934 – July 9, 2024) was an American politician who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Oklahoma from 1994 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

Randall Herrod trial

In 1970, Garrison and Democratic state senator

Gene Stipe Eugene Edward "Gene" Stipe (October 21, 1926 – July 21, 2012) was an American politician from Oklahoma who holds the record as the longest serving member of the Oklahoma Senate. His influence in the state senate earned him the nickname "the Pri ...

represented Randall Herrod, a

Muscogee The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands Here they waged war again ...

member of the

who led the patrol that committed the

Sơn Thắng massacre The Sơn Thắng massacre ( , ) was a massacre conducted by the United States Marine Corps on 19 February 1970, in which seven women and nine children were killed. The Marines reported the civilians killed as being Vietcong (VC) killed in a fire ...

, during his

court martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...

. Garrison was quickly convinced to represent Herrod since his uncle saved him from a crashed aircraft during the

. Stipe had previously represented a

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

fragging Fragging is the deliberate or attempted killing of a soldier, usually a superior, by a fellow soldier. U.S. military personnel coined the word during the Vietnam War, when such killings were most often committed or attempted with a fragmentat ...

case in California and agreed to take the case with Garrison, serving as lead counsel.

Later life and death

Garrison later served as the legislative liaison for Governor

David Boren David Lyle Boren (April 21, 1941 – February 20, 2025) was an American lawyer and politician from Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 21st governor of Oklahoma from 1975 to 1979 and thr ...

. He died on January 15, 2018, in

Bartlesville, Oklahoma Bartlesville is a city mostly in Washington County and Osage County, Oklahoma. The population was 37,290 at the 2020 census. Bartlesville is north of Tulsa and south of the Kansas border. It is the county seat of Washington County. The Cane ...

Electoral history

Works

Notes

References

Works cited

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garrison, Denzil 1926 births 2018 deaths 20th-century members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives District attorneys in Oklahoma Oklahoma lawyers Republican Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Republican Party Oklahoma state senators United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II University of Oklahoma College of Law alumni