US Coast Guard Veteran of 22 years, Frank Myers. (Photo by Shelli Poole)
Arthur Franklin Myers of Bryant Arkansas, was born December 9, 1918. That means he’ll be 98 soon. He served our country in the United States Coast Guard from 1940 – 1962 and held the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 3 upon retirement. Mr. Myers has been chosen by Honor Flight DFW (HFDFW) as one of the few to go on a paid trip on September 30, 2016, to Washington D.C. to see the World War II memorial there.
Myers was part of the effort to extinguish the great fire of 1947 in Texas City, Texas caused by an explosion from two ships carrying ammonia nitrate. The fire raged for several days and killed many civilians and firefighters.
He also patrolled the Eastern Seaboard during World War II looking for German submarines. One sunken sub held over 30 German survivors.
“Some of the German soldiers had ticket stubs in their pockets from shows they went to in New York City the night before,” stated Myers.
HFDFW is an all-volunteer not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose purpose is to honor our veterans. Over 1,200 veterans have traveled on this flight and the average age of those traveling in 2015 was 91.5 years old. For many of these heroes, this is the first real expression of gratitude they have received. They put their lives before ours for our safety and freedom. Thank you, Arthur Franklin Myers, and the countless other veterans across our nation, old and young.
Here’s a list of those scheduled to be on the flight and 36-hour trip:
- 4 Air Force
- 4 Army Air Corp
- 16 Army
- 3 Marine
- 12 Navy
- 1 Coast Guard
- 1 Rosie Riveter
- 19 are 90 years and older
25 are WWII veterans
- The oldest, Mr. Myers will turn 98 in December and is from Bryant, Arkansas.
15 are Korean veterans
- Ages of these veterans ranges from 82 to 92 with the majority in their mid to late 80’s.
