2Jul1921 – 7Dec1944
Edison Days
Frank attended Edison. No pictures of his time at Edison have been found. News reports indicate that he was a good basketball player.
Military Service
Rate: Watertender 3rd Class
Branch: United States Navy
Ship: USS Lamson
Records indicate that Frank joined the Navy on 4Nov1942. He attended basic training at Great Lakes Naval Training Station in North Chicago, Illinois.
After basic training he attended Diesel Training School in Columbia, Missouri.
After completing Diesel School Frank was sent to the Navy Receiving Station in Honolulu, Hawaii.
In Honolulu, Frank was assigned to the crew of the Navy destroyer USS Lamson (DD-367).
Frank and the Lamson would see significant action over the next 20 months.
From April to mid-August 1943, Lamson continued her role in the South Pacific, primarily screening convoys to Guadalcanal and performing constant patrols and anti-submarine warfare duties. She operated out of bases like Espíritu Santo and New Caledonia, supporting the ongoing Guadalcanal campaign and Allied supply lines.
On 19Aug1943, Lamson arrived at Milne Bay, New Guinea, and joined Destroyer Squadron 5 (part of the emerging U.S. Seventh Fleet). This marked her transition to operations in the New Guinea campaign. From late August through October 1943, she supported invasions and landings in eastern New Guinea, including fire support and escort duties related to operations at Laea nd Finschhafen.
In late November 1943, after about two months of escort work in the area, Lamson joined three other destroyers for a daring penetration deep into Japanese held territory. They conducted a bombardment of Madang, the main Japanese naval base on New Guinea’s north coast.
In mid-December 1943, she participated in the invasion of New Britain including shore bombardment at Arawe, New Britain. On December 26, during the landings at Cape Gloucester, she provided fire support and downed two Japanese “Val” dive bombers amid air attacks.
Into early January 1944, continuing New Guinea operations, Lamson bombarded Saidor on 2 Jan1944, supporting landings there.
After these operations Lamson underwent a brief overhaul and training period, including time at Mare Island Navy Yard in California, and at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
She returned to forward areas by mid-1944. By August 1944, she arrived at Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands joining Fifth Fleet elements for patrol and anti-submaring warfare screening in the Marshalls for about two months.
In October 1944, departing Hollandia, New Guinea on October 25, Lamson steamed to the Philippines to support the Leyte invasion. She served as a picket, patrol, and screening ship for assault forces, arriving in the area via stops like Kossol Roads in Palau.
Throughout November 1944, she defended convoys supplying the Philippines against frequent kamikaze attacks.
On 7Dec1944, while screening a convoy off Ormoc Bay in Leyte, Philippines, Lamson shot down two Japanese “Dinah” reconnaissance/bomber aircraft. However, a third plane made a low, fast approach from the starboard quarter, struck the ship’s No. 2 stack with its wing, then crashed into the after-port corner of the transmission room. This kamikaze hit caused fires and damage to the ship. The attack also killed 4 sailors and wounded 17. Frank was 1 of the 4 sailors killed in the attack.
The Lamson’s muster roll for December 1944 listed Frank as killed in action and that his remains were not recoverable.
A memorial service was held for Frank 3 months after he was killed.
In 1960, Frank’s name was engraved on Tablets of the Missing at the American Cemetery and Memorial in Manila, the Philippines. He is 1 of 36,286 American service members missing from the Pacific Theater during World War 2.
In 1969 Frank’s family had a cenotaph placed at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Edison Heroes 