Forest Arthur Harness (June 24, 1895 – July 29, 1974) was an American lawyer,

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 politician who served five terms as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

from 1939 to 1949.

Biography

Born in

Kokomo, Indiana Kokomo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States. Its population was 60,093 according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2024 estimate. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana metropolitan area, Kokomo metropol ...

, Harness attended public schools and graduated in 1917 from the law department of

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

where he was a member of the

Delta Chi Delta Chi () is an international collegiate social fraternity. It was formed in 1890 at Cornell University as a professional fraternity for law students, becoming a social fraternity in 1922. In 1929. Delta Chi became one of the first internat ...

fraternity.

Military career

He served overseas during

as a first lieutenant, Three Hundred and Nineteenth Infantry from 1917 to 1919, for which he was awarded the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

. He served as captain in the Infantry Reserve,

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from 1920 to 1949.

Legal career

He was admitted to the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

bar in 1917, as well as to the Indiana bar in 1919, and commenced practice in

. He was serving as

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in civil law. The prosecution is the legal party responsible ...

Howard County, Indiana Howard County is one of 92 counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 83,658. The county seat is Kokomo. Originally named Richardville County, it was renamed in 1846 to commemorate General Tilghman Ashu ...

from 1920 to 1924, and as special assistant to the

Attorney General of the United States The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government. The attorney general acts as the principal legal advisor to the president of the ...

from 1931 to 1935, when he resigned to resume private practice.

Congress

Harness was elected as a Republican to the Seventy-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. He served as chairman of the Select Committee on the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

( Eightieth Congress). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1948 to the Eighty-first Congress, at which point he resumed the practice of law.

Later career and death

He served as

Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate The sergeant at arms and doorkeeper of the United States Senate (originally known as the doorkeeper of the Senate from April 7, 1789 – 1798) is the protocol officer, executive officer, and highest-ranking federal law enforcement officer of th ...

from January 3, 1953, to January 3, 1955. He retired in 1960 and resided in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

, where he died. He is entombed in the mausoleum at Crown Point Cemetery,

References

Retrieved on 2008-01-24 {{DEFAULTSORT:Harness, Forest Arthur 1895 births 1974 deaths Georgetown University Law Center alumni Sergeants at Arms of the United States Senate United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War I People from Kokomo, Indiana Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives