Harlan Erwin Mitchell, Sr. (August 17, 1924 – September 13, 2011) was a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Early years, education, and military service

Mitchell was born August 17, 1924, in

Dalton, Georgia Dalton is a city and the county seat of Whitfield County, Georgia, United States. It is also the principal city of the Dalton Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Murray and Whitfield counties. As of the 2010 census, the ci ...

, the second son of Douglas Wright and Mary Adelia Erwin Mitchell. He graduated from Dalton High School in 1940, at the age of 16. He then attended the

Citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, before transferring to the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. At age 18, with the onset of

WW II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Mitchell volunteered for flight training with the Army Air Corps, serving overseas in the Pacific Theatre. From 1943 through 1946, he served as a first lieutenant in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

, engaging in combat, flying P-51's from Iwo Jima to Japan while escorting B-29's on bombing raids as well as participating in fighter strikes against air field, shipping, rail transportation and other strategic targets. He was recalled into service in the United States Air Force, during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, and served 17 months in 1951 and 1952. Between his years of service in the two military branches, Mitchell followed in the footsteps of his father, attended the

University of Georgia School of Law The University of Georgia School of Law (Georgia Law) is the law school of the University of Georgia, a Public university, public research university in Athens, Georgia. It was founded in 1859, making it among the oldest American university law sc ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

and earned

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1948. He was admitted to the bar on April 17, 1948, and established a law practiced in Dalton.

Political service and law career

While still in the Air Force, Mitchell ran for the position of Cherokee Judicial Circuit solicitor general, and was elected. He served in that position from January 1, 1953, until December 31, 1956. He was then elected as state's youngest Superior Court judge, at age 31. Serving in that position from January 1, 1957, until January 8, 1958. Upon the death of

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Henderson Lovelace Lanham Henderson Lovelace Lanham (September 14, 1888 – November 10, 1957) was an American politician and lawyer. Lanham was born in Rome, Georgia. He attended the University of Georgia in Athens where he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and t ...

, in November 1957, Mitchell announced his intention to run for

Georgia's 7th congressional district Georgia's 7th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is currently represented by Democrat Carolyn Bourdeaux. The district's boundaries have been redrawn following the 2010 census, which granted an a ...

. He ran as a

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 (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

and won the special election to fill Lanham's term in the

85th United States Congress The 85th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 1957 ...

. He won re-election in 1958, but did not seek re-election in 1960. Mitchell was elected to the

Georgia State Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Legal provisions The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, with the lower house being the Georgia ...

in 1960 and served for one full term. After his political service, Mitchell returned to his law practice in Dalton, establishing the firm Mitchell and Mitchell with his father, and brother Doug.

Later years

Mitchell continued to practice law and resided in Dalton until just before his death, on September 13, 2011, at the age of 87.

References

External links

* Retrieved on 2008-03-19 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Harlan Erwin 1924 births 2011 deaths 20th-century American politicians Democratic Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges University of Georgia alumni United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Air Force officers United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War People from Dalton, Georgia 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers