IAP Member "Mr. Wright"

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Dalecamino

Dalecamino

Local Chapter Leader
Joined
Jan 2, 2008
Messages
14,610
Location
Indianapolis, In.
I just had a conversation with Frank Wright user name Mr. Wright here on IAP. Frank hasn't been on the forum for several years, but is still alive at 96.

Frank is one of the original Marine Raiders who landed on Iwo Jima. Frank says his memory is fading, and has trouble remembering names. He asked me to forgive him for not remembering me.

One of the things Frank is most proud of is being the Grand Marshall in the annual parades in Stockton, Ca. He has assistance at home, but says he is doing well.

Frank also indicates, that he no longer works in the shop, as he uses a cane, and it is too dangerous. But he has loads of pen blanks if anyone wants them. His info is in this video.
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1679003305563715
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
mark james said:
Well wishes to Frank, and Kudos to you Chuck for keeping in touch - very classy! 👍 👏 👍
Click to expand...
Thanks Mark. Frank and I swapped blanks, and maybe pens many years ago. And just a few years ago, he sent me this Parker FP. A few weeks ago, I saw a picture of Frank on FB, in his dress blue uniform. Which inspired me to try to get in touch with him again. I looked everywhere around here for his contact info, but failed. Doing some searching on the web, I did indeed find him with the second of four phone numbers. It was awesome to talk to Frank again after so many years. Hopefully, he will remember me the next time we talk.

Here's a couple of shots of the Parker, after having been cleaned up by Mike Kennedy at indy-pen-dance dot com
 

Attachments

  • DSCF0332 (2).JPG
    DSCF0332 (2).JPG
    97.5 KB · Views: 122
  • DSCF0333 (2).JPG
    DSCF0333 (2).JPG
    192.4 KB · Views: 116
Can you imagine the trauma that this man experienced while participating in the capture of Iwo Jima in 1945 ?
Not him only, of course ..... 7,000+ Marines died and 20,000+ seriously wounded during the battle of 5 weeks + horrific aftermath.
Many others experienced even worse for longer in various other theaters of war during 1939-45.
I can't begin to imagine .....
And all I can do is say to Mr. Wright .... "Thanks for your service."
That's all ..... it's totally inadequate ..... but that's all I can do.

Thanks for this thread, Chuck !
 
magpens said:
Can you imagine the trauma that this man experienced while participating in the capture of Iwo Jima in 1945 ?
Not him only, of course ..... 7,000+ Marines died and 20,000+ seriously wounded during the battle of 5 weeks + horrific aftermath.
Many others experienced even worse for longer in various other theaters of war during 1939-45.
I can't begin to imagine .....
And all I can do is say to Mr. Wright .... "Thanks for your service."
That's all ..... it's totally inadequate ..... but that's all I can do.

Thanks for this thread, Chuck !
Click to expand...
Well said Mal.
 
Dalecamino said:
My pleasure Hank. I was hoping some here would remember Frank. I'm also hoping to get my hands on a copy of that book.
Click to expand...

If you find out where to get a copy, let me know, I'd be very interested in reading it. From what I've read about Iwo Jima and the battle(s), it was not a good place to be at that time. Glad Frank wrote down his memories for others to read about.
 
wolf creek knives said:
If you find out where to get a copy, let me know, I'd be very interested in reading it. From what I've read about Iwo Jima and the battle(s), it was not a good place to be at that time. Glad Frank wrote down his memories for others to read about.
Click to expand...
Tom, his phone number and email address are posted in that video. I'm hoping they're not sold out.
 
magpens said:
Can you imagine the trauma that this man experienced while participating in the capture of Iwo Jima in 1945 ?
Not him only, of course ..... 7,000+ Marines died and 20,000+ seriously wounded during the battle of 5 weeks + horrific aftermath.
Many others experienced even worse for longer in various other theaters of war during 1939-45.
I can't begin to imagine .....
And all I can do is say to Mr. Wright .... "Thanks for your service."
That's all ..... it's totally inadequate ..... but that's all I can do.

Thanks for this thread, Chuck !
Click to expand...
Amen to this!! Having served during peacetime, I also can't imagine what that must have been like other than scary as hell.

If there's one thing Frank won't forget, it's that he's a Marine! Semper Fi!
 
Please don't think I am trying to hijack this thread, but reading about Mr. Wright brought a lot of memories back to the surface for me.

One of the teachers I admired in college (in 1979) was Mr. Wayne Barham. Mr. Barham also had a special friendship with my mother as he had been a teacher at Springfield High School when my mom was a student there. I have a copy of his book "A Sparrow Among the Bluebirds" that he autographed with a very personal note to my mother.

Although Mr. Barham received three Purple Hearts during WWII, he always said he wasn't a hero, he was just a survivor. He was a member of K Company, 3rd Battalion of the 9th Regiment, in the U.S. Marines. In addition to shrapnel wounds, he was blinded in his right eye on Guam in 1944 when a Japanese grenade blew up in his face severing his optic nerve.

His life story in the book includes a chapter on his time in the South Pacific fighting on Bougainville, Guam and Iwo Jima.

For anyone interested in reading books like this, In addition to Mr. Write's book, I highly recommend Mr. Barham's book and the book "The Greatest Generation" by former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw.

Regards,
Dave

PS Wayne died in 2018 at the VA Medical Center in Sioux Falls, SD at the age of 93.
 
A pen I recently made that is to be auctioned for the benefit of my unit's reunion funds. It is a pen that is made from sands of Iwo Jima cast in acrylic and turned for a pen with an M14 carbine pen clip. Proud Marine and proud of all who served no matter when or where.
Jay
IMG_5694 2.jpeg
 
I see a lot of posters here sign off with "Semper Fi". Although I was never a U.S. Marine, just a Navy Corpsman who spent a year with my USMC men, my men, I very seldom use the the phrase "Semper Fi". By military standards I'm allowed to use the Semper Fi salutation but feel as a Navy Corpsman, and never a Marine, using that salutation is wrong. I know for most it's a sign of respect but unless you've stood in a Marines boots you can never fully understand what they've gone through, I do. So please, if you're not a former Marine, please don't use the term Semper Fi when finishing your post. I don't want to in any way want to offend anyone, it's simply an etiquette thing. And I hope you understand where I'm coming from. Thanks for understanding.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom