My Dad, James H. Frame, Jr., passed away on New Years eve. He was a week shy of his 92nd birthday. He died at home, in his sleep, which is about as good a way to go as there is.
Dad's life was marked by his experience in WWII. The horrors he saw and partook of stayed with him for the rest of his life. These days we'd call it PTSD, but that was another time. So many of his comrades didn't come home that he was considered one of the lucky ones.
He was attached to the 99th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop, a unit of the 99th Infantry Division. If I remember correctly, he was a radio operator on a halftrack. While still in Germany, the men compiled a book titled Forever Forward (a play on the troop motto "Ever Forward"). According to Dad, a German printer produced the copies without charge, though the printer didn't have much say in the matter. Dad has a couple of poems in the book.
One of the book's chapters recapitulates the troop's advance through Europe, from their mobilization in England, landing in France, then right into the mess in Belgium and Germany. (Dad told me that his unit liberated one of the concentration camps, though I don't know which one. They were in the vicinity of Dachau, so I assume it was one of the many camps associated with that location.) I took that chronology, along with the associated text, and built a Google Tour. If anyone is interested in seeing it, you can find it here.
RIP, Dad.
Sorry for your loss. It does sound like he made his contributions in his lifetime.
Any mention of the European part of that conflict reminds me of my uncle, who came back physically unscarred but would only talk about the humorous events of the war. One of his stories was about the time he, as lead truck driver for a convoy bringing in supplies from the coast, ran the MP blockade that was reserving a road for General Patton. His CO didn't mind at all, as their chain of command didn't go to Patton. Another was about laying a mine for advancing tanks, and thinking they had stopped one when it tripped the mine. Turned out they had just singed the paint, and it had just then run out of fuel so took off again the next morning after refueling. I overheard him talking with an army buddy about being within hearing distance of the Malmedy massacre of surrendered US soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge. He never told that to family.
Jim,
I am so very sorry for your loss. We lost my grandfather a few years ago, and he was a WWII vet also. He got to Pearl Harbor right after the bombing. He never spoke of it. They truly are the great generation.
Jimmy
That is a nice tribute to your father and his fellow soldiers.
Yes, I have found that the veterans that have been witnessed the horrific events of their service tend to lock it away.
My father died in 2007 at 87.
He was infantry from North Africa,Sicily,
Italy and France.
Later in life, he did inform
me that my existence was due to a missed sniper fire one night and a lucky step at a mine field on another night.
I found some interesting ephemera and other items after his passing and donated them to the WW2 museum in New Orleans that was originated by Stephen Ambrose.
That is a great tribute Jim. My father was also a WWII vet. South Pacific though. He never did talk about it, but I'm afraid that he saw some horrible things. My best to you and your family. Losing a father is tough.
Ed
Jim Frame, post: 408398, member: 10 wrote: My Dad, James H. Frame, Jr., passed away on New Years eve. He was a week shy of his 92nd birthday. He died at home, in his sleep, which is about as good a way to go as there is.
RIP, Dad.
So sorry for your loss, Jim. Your dad is a hero!! 😎
My grandpa also served in WWII. He earned a Purple Heart. They could have known each other...:innocent:
Sorry about your loss. My aunt died the exact same day.
Sorry for your loss as well Tommy.
Jim,
So sorry for your loss,
great tribute to your father.
Christof
Thanks for posting this Jim. Reading the log is festinating to me. I don't know what some of the words mean but nevertheless, you get the sense that that group was mobile. "Frame looking for mess kit at midnight"
One of the things I find so mind boggling about the war is how young most of those soldiers were. My Dad was only 20 when he got home.
Driving back now from the burial ceremony at Marana Military Veterans Cemetery. I was doing fine until the bugler started playing taps.
Jim Frame, post: 408813, member: 10 wrote: Driving back now from the burial ceremony at Marana Military Veterans Cemetery. I was doing fine until the bugler started playing taps.
Sorry for your loss...for me it was when they handed the folded flag to my mother.
Thanks for sharing your dad's story. And his poetry in Forever Forward! Your google tour is a great tribute and I imagine was very enlightening and emotional to put together. You've inspired me to take my dad's WWII flight log and do the same with the fields he flew out of in the Pacific with the 339th fighter squadron.
I imagine was very enlightening and emotional to put together.
Many tears were shed during compilation. It's part of the process, uncomfortable as that may be.
I'm happy to hear that you're looking at doing something similar in you father's memory. I think you'll be glad you did.
Jim,
I am so sorry to hear of your Dad's passing. I will definitely look over the book and tour that you linked.
I lost my father a couple of years back. Although he was a little too young to have served in WWII the military honors at his burial made for a very touching and proud moment.
To all of your fathers and grandfathers who served: they truly were the great generation. I don't think we'll ever see the likes of them again. My hat's off to all of them for the gift that they have passed down to us.
Licensed Land Surveyor
Finger Lakes Region, Upstate New York
We spent a few hours going through Dad's things yesterday. One of his wartime souvenirs is a flag, roughly 3-1/2' x 8', that his platoon took down at a captured command post. The center of the flag is signed by Dad and 23 others, most or all from the 3rd Platoon.
Dad's signature, which would never be this legible again!:
My Uncle, after being a German P.O.W., admitted he walked into my Grandmother's house like he was just getting home from school without letting her know he was coming home. He said she nearly had a heart attack. He told me the entire story one time, fascinating. It wasn't like Hogan's Heros. They were kept in an old building with no facilities and they had to carry the buckets out every morning.
Jim, thanks for posting and sorry for your loss. Another one of the Greatest Generation gone.
Your google tour is really neat and reminds me of my dad that past a few years ago. He was WWII prisonor of war and died at 96. When google street view first came about I was showing him it on the computer. We went to where he was captured on the screen and he came to life telling stories that we had never heard before. The "Veterans' History Project" interviewed him and his story can be read here https://www.riversideca.gov/library/history_vet_proud.asp .
Thanks again, it's great to have a father that you can be proud of! Jp
That's a great interview. I tried many times to talk my Dad into writing of his experiences -- he was a good writer -- and he said he'd do it someday, but based on a quick look through his things he never did get to it.
My father's experience wasn't as positive as your dad's. The fellowship with his unit members was certainly there, but he experienced so many horrific things that it scarred him for life. The nightmares dogged him right to the end. It was a sad fact of his life, but there wasn't much I could do about it. A few years ago I came across a book written by a WWII combat vet who realized in his old age that he had PTSD, and he got treatment for it. He wrote that it ran against the grain of his generation to do that, but he encouraged others to seek out treatment because it had benefited him so much. I sent my Dad a copy of that book, and his wife told me a few days ago that he kept it handy and read it periodically, but he never followed up with any treatment. At least he doesn't need it any more.
