JAMES O. FRANKOSKY

FRANKOSKY JAMES O. FRANKOSKY February 6, 1919 - April 22, 2015 James Oliver Frankosky was born in Fargo, North Dakota of hardy Polish and Norwegian stock, to devoted parents Stanley B. Frankosky, a master electrician from Duluth, Minnesota, and Pearl Aaland, from a Howard, South Dakota farm family. Jim was the middle child, between older brother Robert Lee and younger sister Betty Lee. Jim had a happy childhood as part of a close family that strove together to overcome the problems of the Great Depression. He did well in academics and enjoyed sports, particularly swimming and baseball in the summer, and figure skating and hockey in the winter. At the age of eight, he was so inspired by Charles Lindbergh's flight to Paris that he wrote on his attic wall the inscription, "Someday I too will fly!" After graduating in 1937 from Central High School in Fargo, Jim briefly attended the local state college. But his father obtained for him a Congressional appointment to West Point, which Jim entered on July 1, 1939. By this time he had met the beautiful girl he was later to marry, Alice Jane Gordon, who was from a large farm family near Ada, Minnesota. He worried about leaving her for four years to attend West Point, until the lovely Alice assured him, "I can wait four years, if you can!" Jim responded willingly to the rigors at West Point, remaining focused on his ultimate goal of becoming a military pilot. He excelled in academics and sports, graduating 26th out of 409. He was on the first line of the hockey team and captain of the soccer team. Because of World War II, his final year at the Point was brief: graduation was advanced from June to January 1943. The day after graduation, Jim and Alice were married on January 20, 1943 at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation in Washington, DC. After a brief honeymoon, they moved to Sebring, Florida where Jim trained in the B-17 bomber. In May of 1943, they traveled to the small town of Ephrata, Washington where Jim was the First Pilot of a B-17 crew. Jim embraced the challenge of forging the 10-man crew of officers and enlisted men into a cohesive fighting unit. However, just as they were to ship out overseas, he was disappointed to find himself staying behind, reassigned as a crew instructor. After a brief month at Geiger Field in Spokane, Washington, Jim and Alice were transferred in September 1943 to Ardmore, Oklahoma where Jim trained B-17 crews as a Flight Leader. In November Alice returned to Fargo to give birth to their first child; they joyfully welcomed daughter Jo Ann on November 19. The new family of three lived together happily for seven months before Jim was sent to England, arriving soon after D-Day, a newly-minted Captain and Pilot of a B-17 combat crew. Having already flown over 1,000 hours in the B-17, Jim advanced quickly from Flight Leader to Group Leader of combat missions over Germany with the 95th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force. He was given command of the 412th Bomb Squadron in October 1944. Altogether he flew 22 combat missions, mostly as the commander leading the Group or Combat Wing to include once an Air Division of over 400 B-17s. By war's end he had been promoted to Major and twice awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross along with four Air Medals. After a joyous reunion with Alice and Jo Ann in July 1945, there were brief assignments to the Pentagon and Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. In January 1946 the family moved to West Point where Jim taught Chemistry until 1948, and during this assignment their second daughter, Mary Jane, wonderfully joined the family on May 14, 1946. In 1948 they joined many former West Point classmates in a classified assignment involving special weapons at Sandia Base, New Mexico. Their next key assignment was to Madrid, Spain in 1954 where Jim was Director of Plans and Programs in the Headquarters of the United States Joint Military Group. The Group built bases for the U.S. Air Force and the Navy, and negotiated the corresponding agreements with the Spanish Government. By this time Jim had advanced in rank to Colonel. The family Frankosky had a delightful surprise on April 22, 1956 when son James, Jr. entered the world. The family returned to the United States in July 1957 with two years at Hamilton AFB in California, and then Jim attended the National War College in Washington, DC. In 1962 Jim commanded the 497th Refueling Wing, in Plattsburgh, New York, part of Strategic Air Command. The family was located at Pease AFB, New Hampshire, from 1963 to 1967 while Jim commanded the 509th Bomb Wing, which flew B-47 and B-52 bombers, and KC-97 and KC-135 tankers. They then returned to Washington, DC where Jim was Deputy Director, Operational Requirements in Air Force Headquarters. In 1969 Jim gratefully acknowledged Alice's supporting role in his career, choosing her to pin on his first star as a General Officer. Jim's final assignment on active duty was as Vice Commander, 13th Air Force in the Philippines during the Vietnam War. Jim retired on February 1, 1973 with the rank of Major General, receiving his second Distinguished Service Medal. After military retirement, they settled into their home in Arlington, Virginia. There Alice was finally able to decorate and equip a beautiful home which they occupied for over thirty years. They loved to entertain friends and members of their extensive families. Jim worked on national security matters for Battelle Columbus Laboratories and Science Applications International until his second and final retirement in 1985. They owned a private airplane for about 15 years which they used to visit family members in the North and Midwest. As they looked back over their years together, Jim and Alice praised God for their 59 years of marriage. They were especially devoted to the congregation of Faith Lutheran Church where they had been members for over fifty years. They felt that He had blessed their lives, especially with a wonderful family that included three children, seven grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. The West Point motto of "Duty, Honor, Country" guided Jim throughout his life. He believed the three best things that happened in his life's journey was his faith in Jesus Christ, marrying Alice, and attending West Point. Alice preceded Jim in death on March 15, 2002. Now they will be reunited in rest at Arlington National Cemetery where their tombstone is appropriately inscribed "Sweethearts Forever." Burial service will take place at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Wounded Warrior Project: http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/ donate.aspx, and the Parkinson's Foundation: http://www.parkinson.org/.donate.aspx">www.parkinson.org/.donate.aspx, and the Parkinson's Foundation: http://www.parkinson.org/.