Frank Love
"Mr. Love enlisted when he was 25 years
old. He felt he wouldn't make it because he had to take a test and he
had been out of high school for six years. But he made it. When he
enlisted they gave him a little notebook. He wrote down his most
important missions in it. He still remembers being on a troop train in
April and completely unaware of where they were headed. He can still
see all the snow and all the icicles off the trees. That's when someone
told him they were in Waterville, Maine. He was at Air Cadet School at
what is now Colby College....
After leaving the service he had numerous jobs. He has a big family and a wife of 60 years, who I hear was very wonderful, named Bertha. She did pass away a few years ago though. Mr. Love still manages to keep a smile on his face. He still has some of the letters that they wrote back and forth to each other while he was away. He lives right in Albion now. He is a deacon at a Baptist church. He is a chaplain at Togus Hospital where he does volunteer work. He goes in a few days a week and he tells patients stories and then listens to their stories. I also want to read his book that he wrote called ‘This Is My Life.’ It is about the before and after of the war. Even some of his sons have joined the service.
I would love to meet more people like him. He can carry on a conversation and make it lively. His stories are never dull and they were inspiring. Remember the little notebook he got when he enlisted? He still has it today. It is in great condition and barely has a scratch on it....
...Whenever you just learn about the war in class you hear about major battles , the after-effects, and all that, but actually learning it from someone who was there gives you a completely different input. Some people got lucky and didn't get hurt. Then it’s really sad to think that many people like Mr. Love may have been killed. The world needs more people like him, and they could make a difference on more kids and adults just like how Mr. Love made a difference on me. " ~ T. Dyer
"...But, aside from all the negative, Frank, throughout all his missions, stayed faithful to God, with a distinguished cross, and prayer, miraculously came out of all his missions without a scratch. Frank also got to see a lot of really breath-taking and marvelous things. On one mission, he got the opportunity to see the pyramids, the Sphinx, and King Tut’s tomb. While he was stationed in an Air Force base in Panatella, Italy, he saw the wonders of Rome, like the Colloseum....
...Throughout the interview, I was pulled into Frank’s story, for it was a good one, and I wish I could hear all of it, for I could tell there was more. I think that the things that Frank had the opportunity to see and do was a once in a lifetime experience, and I wish I could've been there..." ~ J. Thoma
"...Mr. Love enlisted in the war because he had a line of family members who have been in the military, and it was family tradition. So he joined. He was 19 years old when he went into training. 'I wanted to become a pilot for the B24 fighter planes,' Mr. Love says. 'They wouldn't let me, I was too dang short and I couldn't see out the window, so they put me in the position as a nose gunner.'...
The one thing that I think Mr. Love loved talking about the most was the B24’s themselves. 'I remember when we were on a mission and we were bombing the bridge, about 100-200 bullets were fired at each plane that was in the sky. After landing there were at least 100 holes in our planes, but still flew in them,' says Mr. Love...." ~ M. Cubbin
"...He had a five man crew. His first mission was on August 20, 1944. This mission was a bombing on an oil refinery in Poland. He said that most of his missions were bombings. There wasn't too much air-to-air combat, but there was some. He said they bombed a number of different things. Some of the things were factories, oil refineries and bridges. He said that the most bombings were on bridges though. He had two different things he did in the plane. One thing he did was he manned his two fifty caliber machine guns. The other thing he did was he was in charge of the switch which made the bombs drop. He said most of the time he felt bad for dropping the bombs because he knew he was killing civilians...after each bombing he prayed for forgiveness....
The interview went very well and I really enjoyed it. I never knew that World War II was fought in Africa and that the Air Force did so much to help in the war. I was so surprised that he still has that book from the war and in such good condition. I couldn't believe how much he still remembers too...."
~ M. Champagne
After leaving the service he had numerous jobs. He has a big family and a wife of 60 years, who I hear was very wonderful, named Bertha. She did pass away a few years ago though. Mr. Love still manages to keep a smile on his face. He still has some of the letters that they wrote back and forth to each other while he was away. He lives right in Albion now. He is a deacon at a Baptist church. He is a chaplain at Togus Hospital where he does volunteer work. He goes in a few days a week and he tells patients stories and then listens to their stories. I also want to read his book that he wrote called ‘This Is My Life.’ It is about the before and after of the war. Even some of his sons have joined the service.
I would love to meet more people like him. He can carry on a conversation and make it lively. His stories are never dull and they were inspiring. Remember the little notebook he got when he enlisted? He still has it today. It is in great condition and barely has a scratch on it....
...Whenever you just learn about the war in class you hear about major battles , the after-effects, and all that, but actually learning it from someone who was there gives you a completely different input. Some people got lucky and didn't get hurt. Then it’s really sad to think that many people like Mr. Love may have been killed. The world needs more people like him, and they could make a difference on more kids and adults just like how Mr. Love made a difference on me. " ~ T. Dyer
"...But, aside from all the negative, Frank, throughout all his missions, stayed faithful to God, with a distinguished cross, and prayer, miraculously came out of all his missions without a scratch. Frank also got to see a lot of really breath-taking and marvelous things. On one mission, he got the opportunity to see the pyramids, the Sphinx, and King Tut’s tomb. While he was stationed in an Air Force base in Panatella, Italy, he saw the wonders of Rome, like the Colloseum....
...Throughout the interview, I was pulled into Frank’s story, for it was a good one, and I wish I could hear all of it, for I could tell there was more. I think that the things that Frank had the opportunity to see and do was a once in a lifetime experience, and I wish I could've been there..." ~ J. Thoma
"...Mr. Love enlisted in the war because he had a line of family members who have been in the military, and it was family tradition. So he joined. He was 19 years old when he went into training. 'I wanted to become a pilot for the B24 fighter planes,' Mr. Love says. 'They wouldn't let me, I was too dang short and I couldn't see out the window, so they put me in the position as a nose gunner.'...
The one thing that I think Mr. Love loved talking about the most was the B24’s themselves. 'I remember when we were on a mission and we were bombing the bridge, about 100-200 bullets were fired at each plane that was in the sky. After landing there were at least 100 holes in our planes, but still flew in them,' says Mr. Love...." ~ M. Cubbin
"...He had a five man crew. His first mission was on August 20, 1944. This mission was a bombing on an oil refinery in Poland. He said that most of his missions were bombings. There wasn't too much air-to-air combat, but there was some. He said they bombed a number of different things. Some of the things were factories, oil refineries and bridges. He said that the most bombings were on bridges though. He had two different things he did in the plane. One thing he did was he manned his two fifty caliber machine guns. The other thing he did was he was in charge of the switch which made the bombs drop. He said most of the time he felt bad for dropping the bombs because he knew he was killing civilians...after each bombing he prayed for forgiveness....
The interview went very well and I really enjoyed it. I never knew that World War II was fought in Africa and that the Air Force did so much to help in the war. I was so surprised that he still has that book from the war and in such good condition. I couldn't believe how much he still remembers too...."
~ M. Champagne