Frankenberg, Herman J. (607th)

Biography: Herman John Frankenberg was born on April 15, 1915, in Belleville, Illinois. He was the son of Herman A. Frankenberg and Frieda J. Stock. By 1925, the family was living in Wichita, Kansas, as shown on a state census. He graduated from Cathedral High School and in 1934, Herman was a freshman at the Municipal University of Wichita. While attending the University, he was a member of Scabbard and Blade which was a collage Military Honor Society. He was serving as a 1st Lieutenant in S & B during his senior year at collage, graduating in 1938. Later that year, he was working as a meat cutter at the White House Market where his father was manager. The 1940 U.S. Census shows he was working as a salesman for Jacob Dold, a local Wichita meat packing plant. A Wichita City Directory for 1941 shows him as still employed by Jacob Dold.

On September 15, 1941, Herman married the former Blanche C. Albers in Strong City, Kansas. She was born in Kingman, Kansas and was the daughter of John H. Albers and Rose C. Wieser. The new couple made their home in Wichita.

Military Service: Herman was serving as a 1st Lieutenant in the Infantry Reserves, possibly since he graduated collage. Sometime in late 1941 or very early 1942, he was called into active duty with the 7th Infantry Division. On February 7, 1942, he was transferred to Company B of the 607th Tank Destroyer Battalion, stationed at Sunnyvale, California, at that time. On April 1st, Herman was assigned to Headquarters Company and appointed as the Communications Officer. On the 4th, he was reassigned to Company B and appointed P&P Officer (possibly personnel and payroll?) and Utilities Officer.

On May 1, Herman left on Detached Service to Fort Knox, Kentucky. Late that same night, the airliner that he was flying on crashed as it approached the Salt Lake City, Utah, airport.

All persons on board were killed. Herman was buried in a military service at the Calvary Cemetery, Wichita, Kansas. We would like to thank him for making the ultimate sacrifice for his country. Thank you to FindaGrave contributor Mike Maxton for use of the grave marker photo.