Frankie Carl Vassaur Died For Something He Believed In
Posted for: FRANKIE CARL VASSAUR:
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By HERMAN BROWN
Okmulgee (OK) Daily Emes editor
• Part 6 in series of 18
Frankie Carl Vassaur was a fun loving boy who liked girls, cars and sports. He also loved his country and decided to serve in the military twice.
He joined the Oklahoma National Guard after his junior year at Okmulgee High School. Later, he entered the U.S. Army and went off to fight for his country.
"He enlisted and was very happy to do what he was doing," recalls his mother, Norma Glover. "He thought we were there (in Vietnam) for a good reason. I was proud of him and felt the same way!"
Frankie was born July 9tb,1946 in Okmulgee. He lived with his mother and step-father (U.E. Vassaur) at their home on the old Morris road.
He had a little sister, Linda, who was four years younger.
Frankie attended Horace Mann Elementary in Okmulgee. He went on to junior high and high school here in town.
Frankie had several good friends in his hometown. His mother recalls his best buddy was Neal Shurden.
Frankie had an Okmulgee Daily Times paper route as a teenager. He rode his motorcycle to deliver his papers on the east side of town. One of his friends, Michael Moore, remembers going on the route with Frankie.
“Oh, yeah," he said. "And he had a water pistol he carried on his belt ... a to squirt dogs that chased his motor a cycle. I remember he gave me the watergun and told me to be ready for this dog. And it came right at us so when it got real close I squirted the if dog right in the mouth. That little squirt stopped the dog right in his tracks!
After his junior year at OHS, Frankie Carl decided to go into the military.
“He was in school in Okmulgee until joining the National Guard,” his mother said. “He went off to Fort Polk (Louisiana) for training.”
Frankie was later discharged from the National Guard.
The Okmulgee man's next move was to Texas. He soon met his future wife in Fort Worth, Texas. They later moved to Tyler- where he was living when he decided to go into active duty.
Knowing her son was in the military was not easy for Norma.
“It's something “I’ll never forget. When your son's in the military, you watch and worry. You don't know what will happen (to your son).”
It wasn't long before Frankie was sent to Vietnam. He was assigned to the 25th Division and was stationed at Cu Chi near Saigon. Sources indicate the Division fought in sections north and west of Saigon. The 'Tropic Lightning' focused on Communists forces in the Iron Triangle, Boi Loi Woods, HoBo Woods, Hoc Mon. Tay Ninh War Zone C and Cambodia.
Frankie was a helicopter gunner in the Aviation Batallion of 25th Infantry Division. He was on a mis sion in Cambodia when his UH-1H (ti9-15058) copter was shot down.
The 23-year-old Okmulgee native died from injuries on May, 8, 1970. Of ficials cornfirm he died in the 45th Surgical Hospital at Tay Ninh, South Vietnam. First Lieutenant Merlin George Orr was killed in the same accident.
News of Frankie's death was directed to his widow in Texas. She, in turn, informed his mother of the tragedy.
“I found out about his death in a crude way,” his mother recalls. “It was pretty tough. His sister was 20 when she lost her brother... and I had to tell her.”
While Frankie's death was heartbreaking, it was not in vain.
“He died over there doing what he thought was right,” his mother said.
A funeral was held in Okmulgee for the war victim. He is buried in the military circle in Okmulgee Cemetery.
Frankie's name is inscribed on the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C. - and also on the duplicate “Moving Walls” that tour the nation. In recent years, Mrs. Glover has had the chance to visit both memorials.
Mrs. Glover went to the Moving Wall in the Tulsa area a few years ago. Later, she visited the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington. She went there with her husband, Joe, and friends from Minnesota. The visits were both difficult and rewarding.
“It's very hard to explain the feeljng I had at the Wall,” his mother said. “It was hard ... but I felt pride seing his name on the wall. He gave his life for something he really believed in.”


Posted by: Ron Leonard
Email:
Relationship: We served together
Friday, July 18, 2003
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