Scope and Contents

The collection consists of approximately 1.5 linear feet of materials documenting CWO3 Garret Donald Franks' U.S. Army service - including his time as an Army Airborne Ranger in Korea (1952-1953) and as a pilot with Air America from 1966-1974 - and his postwar career with Bell Helicopter. The materials include memos and correspondence; letters of appreciation; flight operations schedules; financial records; stamps; CAT Bulletin Inflight Edition; certificates and diplomas; an employee performance review; shipping instructions; service records; manuals; award citations and certificates; pilot logbooks; ID cards; electronic media; photographs; newsletters; and artifacts. The materials are dated predominately 1963-1977.

Biographical / Historical

CWO3 Garret Donald Franks was born February 2, 1928 in Twila, KY (Wallins Creek, KY). He volunteered for the U.S. Army on March 26, 1946. He trained with the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, NC and Ft. Carson, CO (1950-1952) before moving to the 101st Airborne Division stationed at Ft. Campbell, KY (1954). He trained with the Army Aviation School at Ft. Rucker (1955) and then moved to Ft. Huachuca, AZ (1955-1956), before moving to Pirmasens, Germany (1957-1959), where he joined the 14th Armored Cavalry. He then moved stateside to Ft. Belvoir, VA (1960-1962) before beginning a tour of Vietnam stationed in Saigon (1963-1964). During this time, he served as a Senior Aviator with the 120th Aviation Company (The Deans) where he piloted the CH-21 from June 1963 through May 1964. After some time at Ft. Hood, TX (1965) and Ft. Rucker, AL (1966), CWO3 Franks retired from the U.S. Army on July 31, 1966 after 20 years of military service. He received numerous awards including the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Vietnam), the Air Medal (12 Oak Leaf Clusters), the National Defense Service Medal (1 Oak Leaf Cluster), and the Army Commendation Medal.

Following his retirement from active duty, he joined Air America with the rank of Captain and served as an instructor pilot in Saigon (1966-1968) and Udorn, Thailand (1968-1974). He then worked for Bell Helicopter International in Isfahan, Iran. He returned to the U.S. in 1977 and continued his aviation career with Air Logistics, LA. CWO3 Franks was married and divorced twice and had six children. He died January 16, 1992 in Bonifay, FL.