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G2
Memorial Wall of Honor
Francis Milton Wright
Class of June, 1958 (USE THIS .HTML VERSION WHICH SUPERSEDED AN .HTM
VERSION). |
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| Research
done by Claradell Shedd, webmaster |
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From 1958 Howitzer: A man who manages to get around quite a bit with
the best possible energy spent. Moose is known for his easy going attitude
and quiet manner. Coming from the "Windy City", he brought
some of the Mid-West basketball style to West Point. No goat. Frank
keeps ahead of the Academic Department. Likable and easy to get along
with, he has won many friends at the Point. |
| Francis Milton Wright |
 |
| Year | x | Rank | x | Status |
 |
| June, 1958 | x | Graduated | x | Company
G2 | | June 4,
1958 | x | Branch/2nd
Lt | x |
US Air Force |
| June,
1958 |
x | Family | x |
Married Kay |
| date | x |
Family |
x |
Son David born |
| date | x |
Family |
x |
Daughter Betsy born |
| date | x | Assigned | x |
X |
| date | x | Assigned
| x |
X |
| date | x | Assigned | x |
X |
| date | x | Assigned | x |
X |
date
| x | Assigned | x |
X |
| date | x | Assigned | x |
X |
| date | x | Assigned | x |
X |
| 2002 |
x | Family | x |
Married Connie at West Point. |
| date | x |
US Air Force |
x |
Retired |
| date |
x |
Employment |
x |
TDX Power in Park City, Utah. |
| date |
x |
Family |
x |
Living in Jupiter, FL. |
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|
|
| |
| August
13, 1961 At Checkpoint Charlie |
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|
 |
| Fred
Easley in lead tank w/crosshairs on Soviets |
 |
| Fred
Easley had a front row seat when the border was closed
on August 13, 1961. His tank platoon stood face to
face with ten T-55 tanks, shown here at Checkpoint
Charlie. Most of us in Germany had orders home cancelled.
Field exercises were accelerated. It was a tense moment
for all. |
|
|
| Use
space below as placeholder for Frank Wright. San Antonio 2004
and San Francisco 2005 Mini Reunions |
 |  |
San Antonio
Mini: October 22, 2004 Fred and Pam Grattan | San
Francisco Mini: October 19, 2005 Fred and Pam Grattan |
| |
| Memorial
Tribute to Frank by _________ |
Franncis
Milton Wright
Get "living memorial" from Frank
and/or Wright family.
|
|
Use this placeholder for Frank
Wright material.
M-48A2 Patton Tank
Nearly 12,000 M48s were built from 1952 to 1959. The early
designs, up to the M48A2C's, were powered by a gasoline 12-cylinder engine which
was coupled with an auxiliary 8-cylinder engine (called the "Little Joe").
The gasoline engine gave the tank a short operating range and were prone to catching
fire when hit. This version was considered unreliable but numerous examples saw
combat use in various Arab-Israeli conflicts. They also were prone to fire when
the turret was penetrated and the hydraulic lines ruptured spewing hydraulic fluid
(nicknamed "cherry juice" because of its red color) at high pressure
into the crew compartment resulting in a fireball. The flashpoint was too low,
less than 300 F, causing many burns and deaths to crew members. Beginning in 1959,
most American M48s were upgraded to the M48A3 model which featured a diesel power
plant. M48s with gasoline engines, however, were still in use in the US Army through
1968 and through 1975 by many West German Army units including the 124th Panzer
Battalion. |  |
Text material for Frank Wright below:
| Update
from 1968 10th Reunion Directory |
| Get photo from family. |
|
In 1965, Frank was in Military Training. The
Tactical Department at United States Air Force Academy. He had
previously flown the KC-135 aircraft.
|
| Update
from 1988 30th Reunion Directory
|
| Get photo from family. |
|
Since we graduated thirty years ago, I have
overcome many of our cadet prohibitions and acquired one wife
(the same one since June, 1958), six horses, but no mustache.
If I had it to do over, I would pass on the horses and grow
a mustache instead.
I also tripled my academy time by spending an additional four
years at both West Point and Colorado Springs. I must say the
latter eight years on faculties were certainly more enjoyable
than the first four with you guys. The six years I spent in
Washington with OSD and the JCS, however, more closely approximated
the many pleasures we had as cadets -- particularly our Beast
Barrack sojourn. In between these interludes, I managed to be
an air force pilot including flying the friendly skies iof Vietman
and operating a bomb wing in North Dakota.
Life remained active upon retiring from teh
Air Force in 1982. Both Kay and I were cabinet members in the
Republican administration of Pennsylvania's Governor Dick Thornburgh.
She did education and I policy and planning. After leaving state
government, I went off to build a convention center in Philadelphia
until the new Democratic governor decided that the rotten Republican
(me) had to go if the city wanted any of his money. From that
experience, I learned about golden parachutes and how to enjoy
the truly "private" sector. I am now a vice president
with a major independent power producing company and offer a
discount to any classmate who wants his own power plant.
|
| Update
from 2008 50th Reunion Directory |
| Get photo from family. |
|
In 1954, I boarded a train from Chicago to Beacon,
NY knowing very little about West Point or even how I was supposed
to get there from Beacon. Somehow I arrived and the shock of
that first "drop that bag, mister" stayed with me
in various degrees for the next four years. I was convinced
that the incessant academics and military regimen were trying
to drown this laid back kid. The battle raged and I won because
it was harder to quit and explain why than to put up with it.
This was the first good decision I made in my young life. It's
ironic that after being so unprepared in 1954 that I would spend
an additional eight years at military academies teaching cadets.
My military and civilian lives during the ensuring 50 years,
with the exception of the tragic losses of my son and wife,
have been great and I have had a number of wonderful breaks.
Whoever eventually pressents my eulogy, should report that other
than my two family losses, I would not have wanted to change
on thing.
White at Camp Buckner, I vowed upon seeing Air Force jets swoop
over during a training exercise that if mny eyes and class standing
were good enough that someday that would be me. I was married
and in pilot training a month after graduation, and I had the
privilege of flying for 20 of my 24 years in the Air Force.
In retrospect, I actually had three careers within the military--
pilot, professor, and policy analyst. What other service would
allow an officer and pilot to get a PhD and to teach at the
Air Force Academy, West Point, and the National War College
for 9 years and spend 5 years in the Office of the Secretary
of Defense and the Joint Staff? I owe the Air Force a great
deal of thanks.
I just realized that I have been working in the private sector
for more than those 24 military years. this period included
my being a Cabinet Member in Pennsylvania, building a convention
center in Philadelphia, running energy companies following the
deregulation of electrical generation and, the most satisfying,
succeeding my late wife for fours at Headmaster of a private
high school for top athletes. This latter event changed my life
when a beautiful and talented woman came to the school to enroll
her nephew. While the newphew left after two years, Connie stayed,
and were were married in 2002. Just when I thought this history
was complete, life changed. My energy company was adquired by
a large utility and I signed on with TDX Power to work with
Boeing and construct power plants at various Army installations
worldwide. It seems fitting that after almost 50 years, I'm
back with the Army for what is defitely my farewell tour. Connie
and I live in Park City, Utah, along with two dogs and a horse,
while I continue to produce kilowatts.
|
|
| Frank Wright Family
in 1992; photo appearing in 2008 50th West Point Yearbook |
|
| West
Point Wedding; 09/30/02 |
|
| Fort
Bragg, Fort Benning are okay for Framk. Fort Riley; bar code for
this specific Easley website page |
 |  |  |  |
|
Francis
Milton Wright
Colonel
82nd Airborne Division (get correct group)
United States Air Force |




|




|

|

Bronze Star, Army
Commendation Medal w/1st OLC,
and V (valor) device, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign
Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Air Medal |
|
| From
1958 Howitzer |
| Francis Milton Wright |
| "Frank" |
| G-2 |
| Berwyn, IL |
| Congressional |
| From 1958
Howitzer: A man who manages to get around quite a bit with the
best possible energy spent. Moose is known for his easy going
attitude and quiet manner. Coming from the "Windy City",
he brought some of the Mid-West basketball style to West Point.
No goat. Frank keeps ahead of the Academic Department. Likable
and easy to get along with, he has won many friends at the Point. |
 |
| Baseball
4-3; Basketball 3-2-1; Portuguese Language Club 3; Catholic Chapel
Choir 3; Golf Club 3-2-1; Sergeant 1.. |
|
| |
| March,
2026: Lives in Jupiter, FL. |
| Music:
"Wind Beneath My Wings" | |
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