1958 WP Class G2 Memorial Wall of Honor
Francis Milton Wright
Class of June, 1958
(USE THIS .HTML VERSION WHICH SUPERSEDED AN .HTM VERSION).
Francis Milton Wright
Research done by Claradell Shedd, webmaster
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
YearxRankxStatus
June, 1958xGraduatedxCompany G2
June 4, 1958xBranch/2nd Ltx US Air Force
June, 1958 xFamilyx Married Kay
datex Family x Son David born
datex Family x Daughter Betsy born
datexAssignedx X
datexAssigned
x X
datexAssignedx X
datexAssignedx X
date
xAssignedx X
datexAssignedx X
datexAssignedx X
2002 xFamilyx Married Connie at West Point.
datex US Air Force x Retired
date x Employment x TDX Power in Park City, Utah.
date x Family x Living in Jupiter, FL.
text
text tex
text  


text

text
text
text
  text
August 13, 1961 At Checkpoint Charlie
Fred Easley in tank at Checkpoint Charlie   Checkpoint Charlie
Fred Easley in lead tank w/crosshairs on Soviets
Checkpoint Charlie
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.

M-48A2 Tank
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.

text


Frank Wright family; 1992
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
Fort Benning, GAFort Riley, KSBar Code for this website page can be downloaded to IPhone and/or tablet
Francis Milton Wright
Colonel
82nd Airborne Division (get correct group)
United States Air Force




US Air Force Academy







National War College






Command Pilot's Wings

Francis Milton Wright

Colonel Rank

Parachutist
82nd Airborne Division







The Boeing Company

Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal w/1st OLC and V (valor) device, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Air Medal National Defense Service
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..
References
Francis Milton Wright's G2 memorial page: http://www.1958g2.com/pages/memoriam.html
CHANGE: Bob's obituary: http://www.1958g2.com/pages/easleyobit.html
Eulogy by his family and companymates
CHANGE: http://apps.westpointaog.org/Memorials/Article/22225/
Santa Barbara Obituary:
http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Section=LOCAL&Subsection=Obituaries&ID=564993525435990019
pic
March, 2026: Lives in Jupiter, FL.
Music: "Wind Beneath My Wings"

Home | Then | Then & Now/04 | Then & Now/08 | WP03 | SanAnt/04 | SanF/05 | WP/08
Tucs/09 | Den10 | Wash/12 | WP/13 | Roomies | YrBk/Pg1/Pg2 | Memoriam | Close


©2026-csheddgraphics All rights reserved.
All images and content are © copyright of their respective copyright owners.
Lyndon Leroy Sheldon Ford Ruthling Pete Skinner Bill Anders Captain Charlie Collins, Dispersal Operating Base Commander Captain Jack Sikes Captain Lyn Sheldon Ford Ruthling