His name is Dick Franzel, and this is his story.

Richard "Dick" Franzel was born on July 5, 1928 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The son of Ray and Elva (Pietsch) Franzel, Dick grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan.
"As a boy, I can remember swimming in the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan during the summer time," Franzel said. "It was cold, though, so we tried to find swimming pools to swim in."
Dick’s father was an iron worker, so he remembers always having wonderful birthdays as a boy growing up.

In high school, Dick was the second-best gymnast in all of Milwaukee, as he was a three-time letter winner at North Division High School in Milwaukee.
"I competed in the horizontal bars, the rings, the horse, tumbling—all those things and finished second in the city," Franzel said. "I was pretty strong and athletic, which probably helped me be a better pilot."

When he was 14, Franzel recalls taking the car ferry across Lake Michigan to Ludington, MI.

"My dad had received an offer to help build the General Motors plant in Saginaw, Michigan, so we took the ferry across the lake," Franzel recalls with a big smile. "He had me drive him to Saginaw while he slept in the back. Then I had to find him a place to stay while he worked, so I drove the car and found him a boarding house owned by the Armstrong family. They had a son named Jack.
"So at 14, I thought it was pretty cool that I was driving and that I had met the real Jack Armstrong!"

Franzel remembers being at the Zenith Theater in Milwaukee on December 7, 1941, when they stopped the movie to inform the audience that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor.

"We went outside and bought a copy of the EXTRA of the Milwaukee Journal," Franzel said. "I knew it probably meant I’d be going to war in a few years."

While the Germans and Japanese surrendered in the summer and fall of 1945, the official end of World War II did not occur until December 31, 1946.

In December, 1945, Dick graduated from high school and was told to go to the gymnasium.

"Nine of us were told about various Navy programs, and invited us to try out in Chicago," Franzel said. "I went down and was one of two to pass all the tests. Afterwards, I was lead into a another room where an officer swore me into the United States Navy.
"I was kind of surprised, and I went home and said ‘Mother, I’ve just joined the United States Navy,’’’ Franzel said with a laugh.

Franzel joined as part of the Navy’s V-5 program, which was basically Navy ROTC with a commitment to fly. Because he signed up when he did, Franzel is given credit as being a World War II veteran.

In March, 1946 Franzel spent a semester at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. He spent the summer doing tarmac duty at Olathe Naval Air Station in Olathe, Kansas, than went back to Milwaukee to enroll in Marquette University’s ROTC program.

In the spring of 1948, he went to Pre-Flight School and basic training at Pensacola Naval Air Station, and after passing that, was sent on to Corpus Christi Naval Air Station in September of 1949. He graduated with his Navy Wings in January of 1950, and was sent to Norfolk for one month of anti-submarine school. He then joined his first squadron, VP-5, in Jacksonville, Florida before deploying to Argentia, New Foundland for two months.
"I decided to join the transport division because I wanted to be a commercial pilot after I left the Navy," Franzel said. "I had a lot of friends who decided to be fighter pilots, and I lost my best friend when he died landing on a carrier. Besides that, those guys were at sea for seven months and couldn’t chase any of the girls!"

It was at this time that the Korean War broke out, and Franzel was transferred to VR-8, where he flew P2V’s out of Hickam Field near Honolulu, Hawaii.

"Even though it was war time, I had a lot of fun in Honolulu," Franzel said." As Navy pilots, there were places we could stay right off Waikiki Beach for $5 a night."

But it wasn’t all fun and games for Franzel, as he was involved in flying Air Evacuation for the wounded in Korea.

"We would fly from Honolulu to Guam, and then from there we would fly into Hamada Airport in Tokyo," Franzel said. "We would fly in with a load of supplies, personnel or food, and then we’d fly out all the wounded Marines from Korea.

"There were some pretty shot up kids that we’d put on those planes, but they didn’t really complain. Boy, they were glad to see us because it meant they were going home.

"It was a real honor to fly those boys out, and we always had priority where ever we flew because of the precious cargo we were carrying. We would fly them back to Honolulu or San Francisco.
"I remember one guy who was all busted up with his legs and arms in casts, and he said to me ‘Aren’t you glad you aren’t a ground pounder?’ We both laughed, and I couldn’t have agreed more. Those boys on the ground really had it rough."

Franzel says the closest he ever came to buying the farm was when he was a co-pilot on a flight into Johnson Island in the South Pacific.

"We were flying in a severe storm, and the island only had one beacon and we couldn’t see where the airport was," Franzel said. "The pilot told me to hang my head out the all-weather window and look outside. As soon as I did vicious rain blasted me. I kept yelling I couldn’t see anything while he circled the island. Finally I saw the lights, and started yelling while he started descending. I was guiding him, and he was yelling he couldn’t see. Finally, just above the tree line, he found the lights and landed the plane."

Franzel briefly left the Navy after Korea, then re-signed up a year later. He had married his first wife Rosalie Hintz, and they moved around the world. They were married until 1967, when Rosalie died of lung caner.

By this time, Dick was flying helicopters for the Alaska oil companies, and it is where he got to meet the legendary Duke, John Wayne.

"He had flown up from Hollywood with some buddies and his kid Ethan," Franzel said. "He was going fishing, and when I found out where he was going I went over and introduced myself to him. I told him the river he was going to fish was muddy, but if he fished the Italio River he would find plenty of salmon.

"Well, before you know it, I am flying John Wayne and his crew to go fishing. We fished all day, and they caught their limit.

"That night, all the locals were hoping John Wayne would sit in the lodge and drink but he went to bed. I could hear him snoring through the walls in my room.
"We went back out the next day and caught more fish. My boss opened the lodge on a Sunday, and it was the first time he did that in six years. I drove into town and told all the locals that John Wayne was going to be drinking at the lodge, and the entire town showed up.

"He was real generous, and we all had a great time. He was a real nice man. Oh, and he snored even louder that night!"

Franzel lived in Alaska for over 20 years, met his wife Margaret, and they were married for 33 years. They dabbled in real estate, and made enough money to retire to Ruidoso. Margaret was killed in a car accident in 2008.
"It’s been a long and fun life,’’ Franzel said. "I have no regrets—except for maybe losing Margaret so soon.’’