Talk:Thomas Farrell (United States Army officer)/GA1

GA Review

Article (edit | visual edit | history) · Article talk (edit | history) · Watch

Reviewer: Ed! (talk · contribs) 12:03, 16 June 2012 (UTC)

• Is there any idea why he died? It seems like an awfully big hole in the prose.
  • The obituary says "after a brief illness". Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:55, 16 June 2012 (UTC)
    • It should be added in at the end of the prose, just so people know for sure it was of natural causes. —Ed!^(talk) 02:07, 17 June 2012 (UTC)
• His early life is extremely cursory. Where did he live, and what was his personality growing up?
  • He grew up on the family farm. Added a bit. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:55, 16 June 2012 (UTC)
• The part covering World War I is also too brief, especially when he won two valor awards. If necessary, take from the 1st Engineers combat record to give a greater sense of where the unit was and what it was doing during the war, but it needs far more extensive coverage than what is presented.
  • I'll have a look and see if I can find anything. Neither the 1st Engineers nor the 1st Division article is helpful. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:55, 16 June 2012 (UTC)
• "He was head of construction and engineering of the New York State Department of Public Works from 1930 until 1941." -- are there any major projects that department undertook in those 10 years? Summing up 10 years of his professional life into a sentence leaves a lot of questions unanswered
  • I'll have a look and see if I can find anything. Not sure where though. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:55, 16 June 2012 (UTC)
• "Farrell, was promoted to brigadier general in January 1944,[2] organized his command onto two divisions and six districts." -- something's wrong with this sentence
  • Corrected. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:55, 16 June 2012 (UTC)
• "He was also forced to resources to construct a 6-inch (150 mm) oil pipeline to the Matterhorn airfields." -- also needs reworking.
  • Corrected. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:55, 16 June 2012 (UTC)
• "Farrell observed the Trinity Test from the 10-mile (16 km) bunker with Oppenheimer." -- needs a ref.
  • Added. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:55, 16 June 2012 (UTC)
• " This was only the first of a series of mishaps, but the mission was carried out successfully." -- You might want to clarify about the mishaps, as-worded this begs the question of what they were. If none of the other mishaps involved Farrell I would say, "It was only one of a number of problems that faced the bomber crew that day" so that it redirects people to the Bockscar article.
  • Farrell's part ended at takeoff. Added as suggested. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:55, 16 June 2012 (UTC)
• "During the Korean War, Farrell returned to active duty once more, serving with the Defense Production Administration, and then with the Atomic Energy Commission as its Assistant General Manager for Manufacturing. He oversaw a vast increase in the Commission's production capabilities before retiring again in 1951." -- What date did he return to Active Duty? Also, what did the two organizations do during this time?
  • Don't they have their own articles? added a bit. Hawkeye7 (talk) 00:49, 17 June 2012 (UTC)
• "His children were Thomas, Barbara, Peter, Patricia, and Stephen." Is there any idea of birth years for the children? As-is, it looks very odd when one of them was a captain in 1944 while the other was young enough to serve in Vietnam 20+ years later.
  • I only have them for Thomas (21 April 1920), Peter (16 November 1927) and Barbara (22 June 1921). You probably met Peter's son Thomas F. Farrell II, who is CEO of Dominion Resources. By my calculation, Peter was 39 years old in 1967, which was not unusual for a lieutenant colonel. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:55, 16 June 2012 (UTC)
• "Peter served with the Army in the Vietnam War." -- enlisted or officer?
  • As an officer. Added a bit. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:55, 16 June 2012 (UTC)
    • All right. That part looks good, then. —Ed!^(talk) 02:07, 17 June 2012 (UTC)

While I understand his contributions during World War II are the chief reason he is remembered, it is simply not comprehensive enough to glance over the other parts of his career. I think the article needs some sizable expansion about what he did during World War I and at the New York DPW. Placing on hold to see your thoughts. —Ed!^(talk) 13:15, 16 June 2012 (UTC)

What I think is, that for the fourth time in as many weeks, an article I have sent to GA is being held to FA standards. WP:GACR: This requirement [that it addresses the main aspects of the topic] is significantly weaker than the "comprehensiveness" required of featured articles; it allows shorter articles, articles that do not cover every major fact or detail, and overviews of large topics. Hawkeye7 (talk) 00:49, 17 June 2012 (UTC)

There's a lot of leeway on GACR's 5a requirements, and I would agree we don't need an FA standard of detail here. But it's not the same as saying the first 30 years of his 50-year career can be condensed into one paragraph, especially given the last sentence of the article. Farrell began his career serving in one of the most heavily covered military units in history, during a war when modern military engineering was being formulated. He then spent 10 years as one of the top engineering administrators in what was then the largest city in the world, which faced numerous changes caused by the depression and the advent of skyscrapers. There are plenty of indirect sources to cover some degree of what he was up to. It's not complete without more, and it won't be that hard to get more. That said, if you're not satisfied with this, I can terminate my review and let someone else review it, since we're in the middle of a GAR drive and it won't take that long for someone else to come along. —Ed!^(talk) 02:07, 17 June 2012 (UTC)

If you can suggest some sources for these events, I can look them up. Hawkeye7 (talk) 05:17, 17 June 2012 (UTC)

• Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War, the Army chronicle of the 1st Division in WWI has probably the most detailed information on what the division and its components were doing.
• The United States in the First World War: An Encyclopedia -- pp 616-619 has a concise record of the division's major actions
• For the Dept. of Public Works section, add a few lines from 552 to 553 this book, just note how public works was affected by the depression and some of the works that were constructed in the 30s, for a frame of reference for the reader. —Ed!^(talk) 15:15, 17 June 2012 (UTC)

• I have added some extra material. Is it better now? Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:49, 20 June 2012 (UTC)
  • Perfect. Passing GA. —Ed!^(talk) 21:54, 20 June 2012 (UTC)