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In Memory of Those Who Died on D Day

I am certain there are other Frankford men who died on D Day but these 2 come to mind.  Both attended Frankford High School.

Ralph Daniel Fischer, Jr.
Ralph was born on February 25, 1921 in Philadelphia.  When he registered for the draft in 1942, he was living with his family at 1701 Kohl Street and working at Max Willi Pfau in Langhorne.    He enlisted in the Army on September 14, 1942.  Corporal Fischer was one of the HQ Company, 3rd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division who parachuted into France on June 6, 1944.  He was killed in action at 22 years old.   His body was brought home in 1949 and was interred in Ivy Hill Cemetery.

George Lee Meadows, Jr.
George was born in Macon, George on August 14, 1920.  By 1930, his family was living at 4243 Rhawn Street in Philadelphia.  He enlisted in the Army on March 1, 1940 and rose to the rank of Tech Sergeant when he shipped out to Europe on January 18, 1944.  He was in Company A, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division when he was killed in action on Utah Beach on June 6, 1944.  He was 23 years old.  His body was brought home and interred in Arlington Nation Cemetery.

Rest in peace.

 

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Memorial Day 2022

Monday, May 30th, is memorial day, which is the day we set aside to remember those who have died in service to our country.  We live in a very divided country but I have not heard any dispute that we should remember their sacrifice.

We published “Frankford Heroes” several years ago and now we’re researching 2 new books about the students who attended Frankford and Northeast Catholic High schools who died in service.  Can you imagine that the list of names is close to 450 lives sacrificed?  Those books will be available in September.

We’ll be posting the details of the Memorial Day ceremony at St. Joachim Cemetery soon.  Click HERE for a link to the latest edition of Frankford Heroes” which is now available on Amazon.

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CANDLELIGHT NAME READING AT PHILLY VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL

Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter266 will be holding their annual name reading at the memorial on Saturday Oct. 24 at 12 noon. It is also the 33rd anniversary of the memorial. The memorial is located at Front and Spruce Sts.
Please come out to show your respect for the 648 men and women from Philadelphia who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam. Chapter 266 is also looking foe new members. If interested email or call Chuck at linedog716@yohoo.com or 215-722-3518.
masks and social distance required
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Thank You For Your Support!

Pat Smiley and I thank you for your support of our Memorial Day fundraiser and efforts to promote his and Richard Johnson’s book, “Frankford Heroes, 2nd Edition”! If you’ve been busy or just didn’t quite get to ordering their book, you can still do so and we will still honor our pledge of 20% of book sales to be split between St. Mark’s Church and the Catholic Daughters’ Matthew 25 Food Cupboard. You will still get the ebook edition, too, for free. This effort will officially end on Friday, June 5. Here’s the link for you to use – https://frankfordgazette.com/books-for-sale/

We have mailed the books to those who ordered and have mailed the donations to St. Mark’s Church and Court St. Francis de Sales #2617 CDA. Every little bit helps!!!

For all of you who have purchased the book since it was available last fall, please check your email as Bob Smiley has emailed you a link to the ebook. Please check your email and let us know if you did not receive one and had purchased a book. We do our utmost to insure our records are accurate but… We hope you enjoy this ebook version, too. If you would like to share your comments about the book and allow us to use them as testimonials, please email gil@frankfordgazette.com

We would appreciate hearing what you think of the book!! Thank you again for your purchase and we look forward to sharing more publications with you that pique your interest. Stay well!

 

 

 

 

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Our “Frankford Heroes, 2nd Edition” Honor Roll!

This Memorial Day, May 25, 2020, we wanted to let the “Frankford Heroes” tell you their stories themselves. It’s true that Bob put their stories into the 2nd Edition of his and Richard Johnson’s book, but he is simply retelling the stories of the lives they lived and the sacrifices they have made so that they are always remembered!

At the end of this post, there is a a list of all those who are featured in this latest edition of “Frankford Heroes, 2nd Edition”. And here are some of their stories. Remember, through Tuesday evening, May 26, if you purchase a copy of Bob and Richard’s book ($14.95) through our website, we will donate 20% of the list price to be shared between St. Mark’s Church in Frankford and the CDA Court St. Francis De Sales #2617 Matthew 25 Food Cupboard at St. Mark’s. Also, by buying this print edition, we will give you the ebook free. The ebook has additional information and links and has just been finished. Nothing is ever as easy as it may seem. (So, if you bought the book previously, we will be emailing you the pdf asap. Thank you for your patience.) We accept PayPal, Credit or Debit Cards or you can mail us a check. You’ll find all the details at this link:    https://frankfordgazette.com/books-for-sale/

“Frankford Heroes, 2nd Edition” contains the stories of almost 190 Veterans from Frankford. Frankford was a small town before it incorporated with Philadelphia and patriotism and a sense of history continue to be a large part of our traditions. 147 of these stories are those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country and for our freedom. The rest of the stories are those who served proudly and most, if not all, still call Frankford their home. To all our Veterans, past and present, thank you! We thank also, all the men and women of our Armed Forces currently serving so proudly and in unexpected ways. Many have been a real support to areas of the country struggling with coronavirus. We salute you and ask God to bless you abundantly!!

I chose a story from Bob’s book that I wanted to share with you. The first is about a young man named Stephen Blanchett. “Stephen Paul Blanchett was born on October 20, 1947 and lived on Foulkrod Street in Frankford.  He enlisted in the Army early in 1965 and served as a corpsman. He was awarded the Silver Star posthumously: ‘He distinguished himself by exceptional valor while serving as Medical Specialist for his unit when it came under heavy small arms fire in rice paddies northwest of Dong Tam, Vietnam, on March 7, 1967. As the unit was maneuvering slowly through several rice paddies, they came under enemy sniper fire. Immediately, one of the unit’s leaders was hit and severely wounded. Private Blanchett, 350 meters to the rear, was notified, and began racing through the paddies in order to reach the wounded man. When he had come to within 50 meters of the casualty, he was urged by fellow comrades to go no further, due to the increasing amount of hostile fire. He courageously disregarded the warning and with fire all about him, ran to the side of the wounded man. He then pulled the wounded man behind the safety of a dike separating two paddies and administered vitally needed first aid. This courageous act was one of many times he unhesitatingly risked his life in behalf of his fellow soldiers.’” Paul was 19 years old – 19!!! There have been so many just like him – good men of valor, courage and a strong sense of duty and caring for their fellow man!

“Frankford Heroes, 2nd Edition” – Let’s take a look and see if you are familiar with any of the names! These are our honored Veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice by giving their lives for our freedoms during the following wars! There are two pages of names and there are two arrows at the bottom of the document to let you move between the pages. Remember our special offer ends Tuesday evening, May 26 at 11:59 PM!

FH Alphabetical LIsting