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Frank Joseph Curley's Life Story
This is the story of MIA 1st Lt. Frank Joseph Curley who died on February 10, 1945 on his 40th and last mission on the B-24, Hit Parade in WWII, off HaHa Jima, Japan in the Pacific Theater.
For the history of the attack on Pearl Harbor's 11th Bombardment Group, see Paradise Lost: The Legacy of the 11th Bombardment Group.
For a quick overview, see here.
B-24 Liberator 1st Lt. Frank Curley, B-24L Liberator Serial Number 44-41465 and
B-24J-1-CO serial no. 42-73002, 7th AF, 11th Bomber Group, 26th Bomb Squadron.Additional information at: Pacific Wrecks and the 11th Bombardment Group websites.
To see what these Pacific Theater air crews went through in WWII, see the Story of 666 here.
For the complete history of the 7th AF, 11th BG, see: Grey Geese Calling: A History of the 11th Bombardment Group Heavy (H) in the Pacific, 1940-45,W.M.Cleveland, Editor. History of the B-24, the most produced bomber ever, here.
Abstract: This blog post seeks to answer the question: "Who was Frank Joseph Curley and what happened on 10 February 1945 on his fatal 40th? mission (had he made it, he could have returned home having completed 40) in WWIII in the Pacific over Ha Ha Jima that meant that I would never know him?"
His death had a HUGE impact on Frank's parents (see my poem Screaming Like a Banshee" below), my Dad and his brothers and sisters, and therefore on us, the next generation.
The effect of any military service death or disability cascades through a family and generations, but especially that of an MIA because the questions never end.Vanished: The Sixty-Year Search for the Mission Men of World War II by Wil S. Hylton, highlights the mission of another B-24 that went down over Palau in 1944. The families he interviewed do a great job conveying the emptiness in their lives from not knowing what happened to their loved ones.
This photo shows Frank looked as a child with his father and brothers.
Frank's brothers Bill and Ray followed him into the service and after long military careers are both now buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
At the top of this blog entry is a photo of how Frank looked as a newly minted Lieutenant (Frank Curley head shot photo: First Lieutenant Frank Joseph Curley, Army-Air Forces Navigation School, Selman Field, Monroe, Louisiana, graduation photo (courtesy of Tony Bartoletti "44-01").
This is the story of my 40-year search to find answers to the mystery of how he died. I hope it helps others who are looking for ways to find out about a loved one who has been categorized by the U.S. Government as Missing in Action (MIA).
NOTE: My thanks to the 11th Bomb Group Association for contacts that helped me to create this memoriam (Phil Gudenschwager - Secretary, 4116 N 66th Place, Scottsdale, AZ 85251, 11bga@cox.net, 480 945 9119).
For quick results on an MIA search, check out the American Battle Field Monuments Commission and here. Here is the result when I entered Frank Curley in the search engine.
More information on Together We Served.
More information on Together We Served.
Here is Frank's listing on The Honor Wall. Please add your family member or friend here. Too many MIA's have never been listed.
American Battle Monuments Commision
Frank J. Curley, First Lieutenant,U. S. Army Air Forces Service # 0-707235, 26th Bomber Squadron, 11th Bomber Group, Heavy Entered the Service from: Pennsylvania.
Died: 10-Feb-4 Missing in Action or Buried at Sea Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Another MIA resources is the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency DPP MIL website.
| CURLEY, FRANK J. | 1st Lt | O-707235 | UNITED STATES ARMY AIR FORCES | 2/10/1945 12:00:00 AM | 26 BOMBARDMENT SQUADRON 11 BOMBARDMENT GROUP (HEAVY) | PHILIPPINE SEA |
Had I had these simple data points (service number, bomber group, date of death) when I began my research 40 years ago, all the false starts would not have happened.
I encourage you if you are looking for an MIA to use this incredible, if unknown, resource.
(My thanks to Michael A. Norbury, Jr, Engineering/Chief Information Officer, American Battle Monuments Commission, norburym@abmc.gov who told me about this resource. He is the husband of the woman who provided child care for my younger son, Eamon.
(My thanks to Michael A. Norbury, Jr, Engineering/Chief Information Officer, American Battle Monuments Commission, norburym@abmc.gov who told me about this resource. He is the husband of the woman who provided child care for my younger son, Eamon.
I met him at a picnic for the parents. Once again, serendipity...as here... is so much a part of the search for information on a MIA. Expect many blind leads...and occasional blinding light discoveries and breakthroughs when you search for an MIA loved one.)
Frank's listing with the ABMC.
Frank's listing with the ABMC.
Photo of Frank Curley in his USAAF uniform. (Courtesy of Sister Agnes Curley. Lansdale, PA.)There were two brothers, Harry Curley and Billy Curley, who left the family farm in Perkasie, PA to work for the Reading Railroad.
Billy settled in Landsdale, PA and had 11 children.
Sister Agnes is from that family.
Harry settled in Mount Airy, Philadelphia, PA and had 9 children.
Francis "Frank" Joseph Curley was Harry Leo Curley Sr's oldest son.
This February 22, 1945 obituary from the Evening Bulletin, Philadelphia is courtesy of Agnes Curley, Landsdale, PA.
I don't know Sister Agnes, but she's apparently a second cousin. Sr. Agnes was an 88-year old who showed up at one day at my sister Sue Curley (Gillen's) front door and said: "Are you the Curley who's brother is writing the story about Francis?"Agnes opened a large pocket book and pulled out two things. One, is Frank's obituary to the right. The second was a photo of Frank in uniform before a lattice fence above.
"Here. These are for him. I've carried these around for 65 years. By the grace of God you make sure your brother gets these. Can I count on you to do that?"
"Yes. Will you please come in?"
"No. I've done what I came her to do. You just get those pieces about Francis to your brother."
As she turned to go, Sue asked her "Can I at least help you down the stairs?"
Sue said Agnes was very old and very frail.
"No. I got up them and I can get back down them. Just keep your word."
With that, Sister Agnes was gone.
Sue relayed to me that Agnes was the sister of another elderly nun in Lansdale at St. Stanislaus who is a Curley.
Sue does the Eucharist Adoration program there and discovered that she was a cousin of the Curley nun. They would talk, and the nun relayed the story of my blog about Frank to her.
Childhood Memories: I heard the name Frank Curley, older brother of my father Harry Leo Curley, only rarely and briefly as a child.
Usually, there was a reference to the fact that he died in the Pacific in a plane, that he was an MIA and that my grandmother, Margaret D'Arcy Curley never recovered from the loss.
When I tried to get more information on him from my mother and father, I got vague references to the Pacific War and that, again, he was Missing in Action (MIA). That was it.
Photo: Awards ceremony for 7th Air Force aircrews on Tarawa. "Hit Parade" was a B-24J-1-CO serial no. 42-73002 from the 26th Bomb Squadron, 11th Bomb Group, 7th Air Force. This is one of the multiple B-24's my Uncle Frank flew in.
Breakthrough 1
Frank's MACR (Missing Air Crew Report) Some 28 years into my research (mostly wasted hours at the National Archives in Washington, DC) I would obtain his MARC that stated that he was a navigator/bombardier with the 7th Air Force (AF), 11th Bomber Group (BG), 26th Bomber Squadron (BS) in 1944 and 1945 in the Pacific.
By talking to the pilot (Harry Gibbons) who was behind Frank when his plane was hit, I got details of that mission.
By talking to the pilot (Harry Gibbons) who was behind Frank when his plane was hit, I got details of that mission.
By talking to Richard Chandler, the sole survivor of the crew with Frank that day, I was able to get a photo of Frank's crew (as well as Richard Chandler's own incredible survival and rescue story).
According to the MACR, members of this crew flew missions over Iwo Jima, Truk, Marcus, ChiChi Jima, Ha Ha Jima, and Wake and many other pacific island the Imperial Japanese Navy and Army had invaded and occupied.I got the photo of Frank's B-24 going down in the Pacific from MACR 12052 - 10 Feb 1945.
For a quick summary of Frank J. Curley's timeline and awards, see Together We Served.
The Fatal 10 February 1945 Ha Ha Jima Mission
According to the sole survivor of the Ha Ha Jima mission, Richard Chandler, Frank and his crew were shot down bombing a Japanese airfield on HaHa Jima so the Marines and Navy would have an easier time invading Iowa Jima.
According to the sole survivor of the Ha Ha Jima mission, Richard Chandler, Frank and his crew were shot down bombing a Japanese airfield on HaHa Jima so the Marines and Navy would have an easier time invading Iowa Jima. Here is a photo Mr. Chandler sent of the Brashear crew, of which he and Frank were members.
He also told me that Frank came running to the plane before he left that day because he was assigned to it at the last minute. Such is war.
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) First Lieutenant Frank Curley's B-24L Liberator (Serial Number 44-41465) and crew sometime before the 10 February 1945 mission to Ha Ha Jima in the Pacific Theater.
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) First Lieutenant Frank Curley's B-24L Liberator (Serial Number 44-41465) and crew sometime before the 10 February 1945 mission to Ha Ha Jima in the Pacific Theater.
Not shown is Major Robert W. Holland (0350 194) who joined them for that mission as a passenger. According to the pilot Harry Gibbons who was flying behind the Brashaer crew, Major Holland got them all killed by making them slow down and fly back over anti-aircraft batteries - something they did not do in prior missions! See Harry's letter below.
Crew (Left to Right - Top Row): Pilot - lst Lt Edwin E. Brashear (0758 298), Co-Pilot - 2nd lt Theodore Robinson (0765 320), Bombadeir- lst lt Albert C. Reynolds (0762 869), Navigator - 1st Lt. Frank Curley (SN 0-707 235) Crew (Left to Right - Bottom Row): Radio - T Sgt Vincent Foti (12 134 909), Engineer - T. Sgt William F. Caldwell (11 094 945), Gunner - S Sgt John J. Kerexki (6 996 217), Asst Engr - S Sgt James T. McGee (37 505 526). As today, crews were mixed and matched according to available members and the mission. In the photo above, Cecil K Decker and Robert M. Stites are to the right in the place of John Kerexki.
Breakthrough 2
First Eye Witness Harry Gibbon's 1999 Letter and Diary
Harry Gibbon's for me was a real break through that answered a number of questions about what happened. He was the pilot directly behind Frank's plane that day.
Here it is. Pacific Wrecks
"Bruce,
There is so much to be said about any war.
Historians say 60,000,000 people died in WWII, about 250,000 Americans. We were relatively lucky. But try to tell that to the parents of the deceased, including my parents who lost a Lt. navigator over Germany.
As to Lt. Frank Curley, I knew him and I remember him. This part is strange because after 54 years you remember so few of your fellow flyer's.
As to Lt. Frank Curley, I knew him and I remember him. This part is strange because after 54 years you remember so few of your fellow flyer's.
I was a 21 year old pilot flying in the right seat for the McCullam Crew. We were together with the Brasher and Bienwith Crew. There were older crews ahead of us and younger crews behind, but we always seemed to be together. We flew sub search out of Oahu. We moved up to Kwajalein and bombed Watje, Truk, etc
We moved up to Guam in the 26th squadron, 11th bomb group. We flew 9, 10, 11 plane raids. Brasher was generally the lead plane. He was good.
We bombed Iwo Jima on February 8, 1945. A Jap kamikaze fighter rammed Bienbwith's plane and created an instant ball of flame. No one could have possibly gotten out.
The reason I tell you this is because Major Holland (see photo) enters the picture.
He was considered a very popular officer when he flew. He was returning to Guam from his rest leave after flying 30 missions.
He did not impress the war weary young kids who had seen tougher action that he ever saw. He seemed arrogant and autocratic, i.e. I'll show you guys how we did it in the old days.
He took over.
He set up a mission for the 10th, two days after Bienwith went down.
Major Holland (I always felt he had been promoted to Lt. Colonel about that time) then set up what we called a milk run, an easy mission where there would be no fighters and light ack-ack, certainly not Iwo 9 days before the invasion.
Major Holland (I always felt he had been promoted to Lt. Colonel about that time) then set up what we called a milk run, an easy mission where there would be no fighters and light ack-ack, certainly not Iwo 9 days before the invasion.
Holland picked Ha-Ha Jima, a couple hundred miles north of Iwo. Therefore, we needed monstrous rubber tanks for gasoline carried in the bomb bays. If he were Laurel and Hardy he couldn't have fouled up the mission any worse. We flew from the West about 15,600 feet up. We had a tail wind.
We always flew at 165 MPH indicated.
However, at that altitude with a strong wind we were probably doing close to 400 MPH. Holland, flying the ship, turned off the target for reasons unknown.
He did a shallow 180 degree turn. He had to with other planes in the formation. He turned and approached the target from the other direction.
He did a shallow 180 degree turn. He had to with other planes in the formation. He turned and approached the target from the other direction. We are now flying up wind and probably doing 160 MPH.
After flying in view of the island for possibly 5 minutes the Japs had good time to figure our altitude.
It was when we released our bombs that his plane took a direct hit in the bomb
bays...remember the gas-filled auxiliary tanks?
It was an inferno. Brasher's plane turned out of control and headed back into the formation.
It was an inferno. Brasher's plane turned out of control and headed back into the formation.
From a distance it seemed two or three flyers got out (the tail gunner was rescued).
The others had to be the waist window gunners. No one could have gotten out of the cabin.
What a tragedy! Here was a crew that had shown enough leadership to be the lead crew and then have the ship taken over by an... "I'll show you guys how to fly combat" kind of guy.
It's sick.
As to Frank himself, we were a reasonably close squadron.
We lived in 16 x 16 pyramidal tents, dirt floors, outdoor latrines, 50 gallon overhead tanks for showers, indigestible food, warm beer (2 cans per day, perhaps).
We played softball together, but I don't ever remember him drinking with us or playing poker with us.
There were about 12 crews in our squadron, some coming, some going.
We lived in a circular area, that is, the tents were in a circle.
Frank was of good height, well conditioned and extremely good looking.
I remember that he had gone to LaSalle College High School about the class of 1942. I went to North Catholic, class of 1940. Later I graduated from LaSalle College, class of 1948.
Enclosed is a map of the area to give you an idea of the war that "we" had, but it was going on all over the world.
Harry J. Gibbons
Below are notes Harry J. Gibbons Co-pilot of the 11th BG3/15/1999"kept of this mission. Against orders (in case he was shot down and captured), Harry kept a diary. He sent me the two pages concerning this mission that he wrote on the 3' x 5" homework pad that every parochial school child keeps.
Here is his introduction to me and the diary entry for this mission--Dangerous Critter.
"Bruce...From my diary that I kept and recorded on the flight back home from every target. It was against all rules to keep such a diary, just in case that you were captured by the Japs. But you know us wild Irishmen. Tell us not to do something and..." Harry 3/16/1999 HA HA JIMA No. #35 Dangerous Critter.
Second Eye Witness Bill Tarczy
Second Eye Witness Bill Tarczy
A second witness, Bill Tarczy, who was in a B-24 in the formation with Frank Curley sent me a letter with the following account.
"Bruce Curley,
My name is Bill Tarczy. I was a tail gunner on the last B-24 over the target flying the Diamond on the mission over Ha-Ha Jima. Major Holland (our Group Commander) was in the lead plane with Lt. Brashear's crew. 
During briefing on weather on the mission, we were told Ha-Ha was overcast. We took off around 4:00 to 4:30 A.M. and arrived over target at about 10:00 A.M.
The trip to Ha-Ha was overcast. The trip to Ha-Ha usually took 11 to 12 hours over and back to Guam.
Due to the distance, we had to carry a 500 gallon tank of gas in the left forward bomb bay.
The tank was full over the target.
Once we started the run, the clouds opened and the target was visible, we got orders from lead plane to close bomb doors to make a visual run. As we left the target flack was also around us and it was phosphorus.
They knew we carried extra gas so that was what they used instead of regular flack.
We circled and made a visual run.
As soon as bombs were dropped, Brashear's plane was hit in the bomb bay and it caught fire and started losing altitude and went down.
t was hard to tell how far we got from the target because the formation all moved away from Brashear's plane.
Richard Chandler, who was the gunner did bail out and was picked up by a Navy B-24 (PBM) that can land on water.
The B-24 that they flew that day was a B-24L.
When we arrived at Ha-Ha, it was overcast and we were making our bomb run by radar from about 26,000 feet. The plane was a new model. The waist windows and tail gun positions were encased in plexiglass.
From what we were told, Chandler wore his parachute and had his goggles on.
When they got hit, he ran to the rear hatch in waist and bailed out.
According to him, the waist gunners got flash burn and could not see what they were doing.
We never wore parachutes on missions.
They were always on racks in the waist.
The reason Chandler wore it that day was because on February 2nd a Kamikaze Jap Zero rammed into one o four B-24 destroying it in mid-air.
The tail section broke off in one piece and a couple of parachutes opened from impact.
That crew was flying their 40th mission (last one) as was your uncle and rest of crew.
I personally did not know your uncle other than riding out to the airfield on our missions.
I did know the enlisted crew members since our tents were next to each other. The officers slept in another area.
I hope this information will enlighten you.
Yours,
Bill Tarczy"
Another member of the mission in another B-24, Barnard Protine of Colusa, CA sent me a letter as well. The letter has an image of the B-24 on the top and "B-24 Liberator" at the bottom.
"Hello Bruce,
I was on this mission. This info is from the book Grey Geese Calling: A History of the 11th Bombardment Group Heavy (H) in the Pacific, 1940-1945 by W.M. Cleveland, Editor. It is the history of the 11th Bomb Group.
HaHa Jima and ChChi Jima were bombed because they had better harbors for shipping than Iow Jima.
Sorry I couldn't be more help.
Barnard Protine Ball Turret Gunner "Barney" 1400 Wescott Road
Colusa, CA 95932-3122
That was a long time ago.
The Official Record of Frank's Last Mission from Grey Geese Calling: A History of the 11th Bombardment Group Heavy (H) in the Pacific, 1940-1945, W. M Cleveland, Editor, is found on page 111.
The loss of this crew was the most tragic for this Unit because the Commanding Officer of the 26th, Major Robert W. Holland was on this plane flying as command pilot. Every member of this organization deeply regrets this unfortunate tragedy.
The name of the crew is as follows: Command Pilot, Maj. Robert W. Holland; Pilot, 1st Lt. Edwin E. Brashear; Co-pilot, 2nd Lt. Theodor Robins; Navigator, 2nd Lt. Frank J. Curley; Bombardier, 2nd Lt. Albert C. Reynolds; Engineer, T/Sgt. William F. Caldwell; Radio Opr., T/Sgt. Vincent Foti; Radar Opr., S/Sgt. Cecil K. Decker; Asst. Engr. S/Sgt. James T. McGee; Armorer Gunner, S/Sgt. John J Kereski; Tail Gunner, S/Sgt. Richard E. Chandler.
S/Sgt. Richard E. Chandler was the only member of Lt. Brashear's crew to survive. He parachuted into the water, but cannot recall anything of the incident in as much as he was the tail gunner and was thrown from the plane when it exploded. Sgt. Chandler was discharged from the hospital where he was treated for first and second degree burns of the face and is now on his way to the states.
The awards and decorations were distributed amidst colorful background in as much as this squadron participating with the other three squadrons for the group were celebrating the fifth anniversary of the 11th Bombardment Group (H0. The Group has been in the combat area for five years. Major General Douglass and his staff were present to distribute the awards and make speeches of congratulations to the entire Group. A legal holiday was declared for all except for the personnel essential for important daily tasks.
Air Echelon/Operations: Susaki Airfield on Chichi Jima is an undeniable threat to our forces and aircraft which in the near future will probably be based on Iwo. Therfore, when the 26th was ordered to bomb Susaki in both night harassment missions and the daylight formation raids, the job was undertake with unusual interested in intense efforts to make these raids. successful. Thus, the Jap airfield on Susaki could be neutralized and our forces on Iwo can be secured from any attempt the Jap fighters might make from Susaki Airfield.
There were the usual routine missions during the month, among them were Photo Reconnaissance, escorting Navy Photo planes over Truk, important targets on Haha Jima, and strikes on Marcus Island.
Getting MIA Lt. Edwin Bashear's Widow into an Army Nursing Home
In January, 2011, I received an email from Tom Loper, of Austin, Texas, whose mother was married to Frank's crew's pilot, Lt. Edwin Brashear.
Tom's birth father had died recently and his mother was asking him to conduct some research on his MIA father Lt. Edwin Brashear, the pilot my my Uncle Frank's last mission over HaHa Jima, Japan.
Tom's birth father fought with the 3rd Marine Division on Iwo Jima, Guam, at the same time that Lt. Brashear's crew was operating in the area, small world (war).
(Iwo Jima, Ha Ha Jima, and Ti-Ti Jima are all part of the Bonin Island's and the first part of territorial Imperial Japan.).jpg)
Tom's dad planned ahead for his mother, knowing that after his death, she would be eligible to receive a death benefit from having once been married to Lt. Brashear, now an MIA, which she had previously never received.
We exchanged a few emails and he sent me these photos of the Edwin, Frank and and the crew as they lived in those years.
The photo's are from his mother's photo/wedding album.
In turn, I sent him a packet with the sources I have discovered over the years.
After I gave Tom Loper his biological father Edwin Brashear's service number, he was able to prove she was entitled to live out her remaining years in an Army nursing home in Texas.
God is good.
USAAF Bombardiers Took an Exacting Oath
"Mindful of the secret trust about to be placed in me by my Commander in Chief, the President of the United States, by whose direction I have been chosen for bombardier training...and mindful of the fact that I am to become guardian of one of my country's most priceless military assets, the American bomb sight...I do here, in the presence of Almighty God, swear by the Bombardier's Code of Honor to keep inviolate the secrecy of any and all confidential information revealed to me, and further to uphold the honor and integrity of the Army Air Forces, if need be, with my life itself."
(Photo: Frank Curley, LaSalle College High School, Philadelphia, PA, 1942. Photo courtesy of Christopher M. Carabello '82 Director of Communications and Public Relations La Salle College High School 8605 Cheltenham Avenue Wyndmoor, PA 19038 (215) 402-4810 direct (215) 836-4502 fax, carabello@lschs.org, carabello@lschs.org, www.lschs.orgBruce McClelland posted Frank's information on Air Force Together We Served .
On October 16, 2015 from Adam Khlor:
"Mr. Curley, I came across your post (poetslife) about your
uncle's service in WWII. My grandfather was in the 26th from mid 1943-1944. I
was wondering when your uncle was there? My grandfather was a photographer by
civilian
trade and took lots of pictures. Unfortunately he didn't write names
on most of them.
I do have a few of Maj. Holland (I'm guessing it's the same
one), but most I have no idea who they are.
If their dates of service crossed,
I'll be glad to e-mail them to you to see if you can identify anyone. The only
person I've talked with from the officer group was Robert Madonheimer.
He was
the original co-pilot of GunSite (my grandfather was tail gunner) and later Mr.
Masonheimer became the captain of Smokey Stover.
My grandfather's 30th and
final mission was in May of 1944, but I don't know when he was sent out of the
theater.
Adam"
Mobile WWII Wood Memorial
This is a mobile WWII wood memorial that was created after WWII for those from Mt. Airy, Chestnut Hill and Germantown, Philadelphia of those who died in the war. It was rotated to those neighborhoods to honor those who died to defend the American Republic in WWII.
My dad, his mother, and Joe and Nancy Curley, Frank's youngest brother and sister, are pictured here.
Zero Zero
During World War II, the Army Air Corps, later known as the Army Air Forces, operated a navigation training school in Monroe at Selman Field, Louisiana.
On June 15, 1942, Selman Field was activated and Colonel Norris B. Harbold, a pioneer in the navigation training program, was named commanding officer. Within three months, the field was a full-fledged military establishment consisting of the Pre-Flight School (Bombardier-Navigator) and the Advanced Navigation School. Selman Field continued to grow in size and stature and became, the nation's largest navigation training school during World War II.
"Zero Zero" was the navigator's ultimate objective. It means navigating through hundreds of thousands of miles of space, cloud rack, wind, and weather and hitting a dime-sized objective "on the nose" at the precise second you said you would hit it on the nose. 
The first is pilotage, or navigating by landmarks, using maps and charts. The second is dead reckoning, which consists of keeping track of how far you have gone and in what direction since you started, using instruments which measure various aspects of the plane in motion, such as speed, deviation, wind drift, and-so on. The third method is radio navigation which consists of "riding the beam" from one station to another until you progress to where you want to go. The final way to navigate is by celestial navigation — by the stars and other celestial bodies. These are immutable, but you must be able to identify them in their different configurations in all quarters of the heavens at all times of night and day. Armed with the best knowledge and training possible, the navigation cadets graduated and became members of combat crews.
One inch off i's not Zero Zero. It means right on the button, right on time — perfection. Selman Field met the challenge and provided 15,349 navigators during WWII.
For an oral history of their deeds, see here.
More information on the history of Selman Field is here.
The Chennault Aviation Museum is located in the last remaining WWII building.
More information on the history of Selman Field is here.
The Chennault Aviation Museum is located in the last remaining WWII building.
1977 - After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, I took a job in Washington, D.C. Curious about Frank's mission, I went to the National Archives and looked in the military records and talked to staff at the National Archives. I found nothing, but continued off and on for 20 years on a free Saturday. I wrote "Screaming Like a Banshee" based on memories of my Uncle Frank, his mother, and my youngest Eamon when he was a baby. It was published in Feile-Festa Literary Arts Journal, NY, NY, Spring 2010, p. 46.Screaming Like a Banshee
My wife screams like a banshee
to cover wailing with neutral sound
when my toddler Eamon fights her
and refuses to take a nap.
I hear Grandmom Curley screamed
like a banshee when the telegram arrived
from the War Department in 1945
to tell her the oldest, Frank, the one
who was supposed to be the Jesuit,
instead had been killed in action
when the Japanese ack-ack
turned his B-24 into a fireball
on his 39th mission over Haha Jima
in an ocean grave in the South Pacific.
Grandmom Curley screamedlike a banshee for weeks
until they hooked her up
and shot electricity through her brain
to cover wailing with neutral sound.
She never screamed like a banshee again.
Instead, she wailed so deep down for 20 years
because the hole in her heart was so vast
laughter was no longer a planet in her galaxy
and the only way people would describe her was,
“She was never the same after Frank died in the Pacific.”
“She was never the same after Frank died in the Pacific.”
This is Harry Leo Curley on his wedding day to my mother Phyllis Mary Watson Curley. My father was Frank's next younger brother of 6 brothers.
All served but for my Dad and Joe (although Joe was a recreation director for various Army, Navy and Marine bases around the world.)
My Dad tried to enlist in WWII, but was too young to go in without his parents, Harry Leo Curley and Margaret D'Arcy Curley, signing for him.
As Frank kept sending letters home saying, "War is hell. Don't let Harry join up" and due to his age my Dad was never able to go in.
This is my uncle, Joe (Joseph) Curley. Notice his first name is Frank's middle name.
This is my uncle, Joe (Joseph) Curley. Notice his first name is Frank's middle name. He was conceived and born shortly after my grandparents received the telegram from the War Department saying that Frank was an MIA and presumed dead.
Joe was named for Frank.
After Frank was killed, the War Department sent my grandparents an Inventory of Effects that list everything Frank owned on this earth when he was killed.
After Frank was killed, the War Department sent my grandparents an Inventory of Effects that list everything Frank owned on this earth when he was killed.
It is a remarkable document.
It is almost about what a monk would own.
He had a shoebox worth of earthly goods, $68, some religious items (rosaries, miraculous medals, etc.), and two changes of clothes and shoes.My Grandmother was a very religious woman and no doubt sent them to him or gave them to him before he left.
The Rosary and Holy Cards are of particular interest.
Frank was a devout Catholic who loved Christ and was called to Heaven when God wanted is Soul back home.
Harry Gibbons states that Frank did not party buy did his job.
With God's help to judge by his last possessions.
How to and How Not To Find Out About Your Family MIA
This is long before Internet search engines were free and widely available.
James Bradley's book Flyboys provides great background on these missions. Especially powerful, but unknown to most, is that the Imperial Japanese officer's were eating the body parts of American flyers (see pages 222 -236). I kid you not. The U.S. Government at the time and until today has kept it quiet.
There are some records there, all in different formats. Some on big index cards...front for your life, back for your death. 500,000 deaths, 50,000 MIA...yes, 50,000 still listed, with 18.000 in the Pacific. And no way to correct or update them, and no current list of remains that can possibly be recovered or identified by modern forensic technology.
This is a photo of my great grandparents, Frank's grandparents, on their farm in Perkisie, PA. From solid stock like this did we defeat the Nazi and Bushido threat.
Bill and Harry Curley
These two brothers, Bill and Harry Curley, left the farm in Perkisie and worked for the Reading Railroad. Bill settled in Landsdale, PA and had 11 children. 
Harry settled in Mount Airy, Philadelphia, and had 9 children.Here is the chronology of my search for Frank's story, who is Harry's oldest.
I offer it in hopes it may help another American MIA family to find out about what happened to their loved one.
There were many dead ends, false leads, and rude and lazy bureaucrats over the years, but there were also some extremely helpful veterans and veteran's associations, along with numerous individuals who love this country and understand the sacrifice military families make for this country, who were especially helpful.
My main suggestion would be for the U.S. government to declassify these missions while living family members can discover what happened to their loved ones.
My main suggestion would be for the U.S. government to declassify these missions while living family members can discover what happened to their loved ones.
In Frank's case, they kept the mission classified far longer than it needed to be.
As anyone who has an MIA in their family knows, the U.S. Government is not a great deal of help (although it has gotten better due to the diligence of the Vietnam-era MIA families).
I recommend private researcher to really find out the truth.
Matt Holly (matthollymarshalls@yahoo.com) POB 319, Majuro, MH 96962 has done extensive research on the Marshall Island's Campaign.
Matt Holly (matthollymarshalls@yahoo.com) POB 319, Majuro, MH 96962 has done extensive research on the Marshall Island's Campaign.
As he said in a recent 11th Bomb Group (H) Association, Inc. (Progression Sine Tirmore aut Praejudicio) mailing: "Believe it or not, the US Government does not have a current listing of all USA losses in WWII.
Mr. Holly is right.
If I ever fall into the big money, my one goal would be to dive off HaHa Jima and find Frank's B-24 off Ha-Ha Jima.
If by the grace of God I could also locate his remains, I would bring his and any others from his crew to the surface and back to the U.S. for a Christian burial.
After four decades of research, I have half-solved the mystery (why Major Holland was there that day and got them all killed is part of the unsolved half) of what happened to First Lieutenant Frank Curley on 10 February 1945 off Ha Ha Jima.
A Special Thanks
So many helped me in this search.
I would have never been able to piece together this story without those mentioned below, and those who wrote the intelligence reports after the fatal mission.
Special thanks to all, and especially Richard Chandler, Harry Gibbons, Richard Mansfield, Jack Lopez, Bill Tarczy, and the woman from Selman Field, and Bill Curley, who helped me solve the mystery of this mission.
Bill Curley let me know in a call to him on Saturday, September 4, 2021 that when he worked for the Department of Defense in 2015, he met with the remains office at the Pentagon and shared the information in this blog post with them.
So, when the Army contacted Joe and I six years later for a DNA sample most likely was due to that meeting. Thank you Bill with all my heart for that Christian Act of Charity.
Some Suggestions for How to Find Information about your MIA Loved One
Here are a few suggestions for what was helpful and what was not in my 40-year search.
1955- 1977 - Once in a great while I would hear a vague reference to Frank, that he died in the Pacific, and that he won some medals but not what those medals meant or what for.
I heard that my grandmother Margaret D'Arcy Curley was a beauty with jet-black hair that Frank also had, and that she was a happy woman before but "she was never the same after Frank died in the Pacific."
To the day she died, she never accepted that he was an MIA and instead believed that he was captured by the Russian's and ended up in Siberia in the Gulag.
To the day she died, she never accepted that he was an MIA and instead believed that he was captured by the Russian's and ended up in Siberia in the Gulag.
(Photo: My father, Harry Leo Curley with his first daughter Madeline in Cape May, NJ a few years after Frank's death.) When I asked at one point if there were any pictures of Frank, I remember being told that his mother had destroyed them all after he died because they were too painful for her to see.
As a child, for a few weeks each summer, I stayed at a huge Victorian mansion in Cape May, New Jersey...back when it was affordable.
I was told that it was purchased with the survivor's check the government sent after Frank died, that Grandmom Margaret D'Arcy Curley used to put it in the collection basket every Sunday at Holy Child Catholic Church in Mount Airy, Philadelphia for two years and the priest would return it each Monday until they bought the Cape May Victorian to rent out.
As a child, for a few weeks each summer, I stayed at a huge Victorian mansion in Cape May, New Jersey...back when it was affordable.
I was told that it was purchased with the survivor's check the government sent after Frank died, that Grandmom Margaret D'Arcy Curley used to put it in the collection basket every Sunday at Holy Child Catholic Church in Mount Airy, Philadelphia for two years and the priest would return it each Monday until they bought the Cape May Victorian to rent out.
As with so much of our military and other history, this was relayed to me by a woman, my mother, Phyllis Mary Watson Curley. My father never really talked about Frank, his older brother by two years. It was just too painful.
1999 - Breakthrough - After entering "B-24" in a search engine, I find the Selman Field Memorial website. A very kind woman there put me in touch with Richard Mansfield 44-10, VP, SFHA. Then, while surfing the Web under USAAF and B-24 and MIA I found Aviation Archives, a research firm that specializes in cutting through the red tape of the U.S. government. I research their website, discover it is only $35.00 for them to get Frank's MARC, and send the check. Two weeks later, Frank's Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) arrives with the declassified file and intelligence, details of the mission, including the photo of his plane going down. I encourage anyone who has an MIA to contact Jack Lopez of Aviation Archives.
Aviation Archives
12624 Orchard Brook Terrace
Potomac, MD 20854-2326
Telephone: (240) 432-0038
E-mail: aviationarchive@comcast.net
Contact Person: Jack R. Lopez
(The 1945 Bombers Chapel programs (above) and the nose art (below) courtesy of Mr. Donald MacLaine who lived in the tent next to Frank's on Guam.)
- Harry Gibbons contact initiated (courtesy of Richard Mansfield 44-10, VP, SFHA) - by phone, he reveals the mission verbally and follows up with a four-page, hand written letter (above). He told me that he went to a reunion at the Punch Bowl in Hawaii and overheard Major Holland's widow bragging about the Major's accomplishments. He said it was all he could do to bite his tongue and not ask her if the major's accomplishments included getting all those good, young flyer's killed over Ha Ha Jima on 10 February 1945 due to his fatal incompetence..jpg)
12624 Orchard Brook Terrace
Potomac, MD 20854-2326
Telephone: (240) 432-0038
E-mail: aviationarchive@comcast.net
Contact Person: Jack R. Lopez
(The 1945 Bombers Chapel programs (above) and the nose art (below) courtesy of Mr. Donald MacLaine who lived in the tent next to Frank's on Guam.)
- Harry Gibbons contact initiated (courtesy of Richard Mansfield 44-10, VP, SFHA) - by phone, he reveals the mission verbally and follows up with a four-page, hand written letter (above). He told me that he went to a reunion at the Punch Bowl in Hawaii and overheard Major Holland's widow bragging about the Major's accomplishments. He said it was all he could do to bite his tongue and not ask her if the major's accomplishments included getting all those good, young flyer's killed over Ha Ha Jima on 10 February 1945 due to his fatal incompetence.
2000 - In December, after six years of waiting (tip: call and don't wait as I did), I finally got the courage to call the sole survivor of the flight, Richard Chandler . He was gracious and kind and sent me the "DUMBO" article.
After reading the intel report on how the plane, carrying 500 pounds sacks of fuel and bombs was hit by Jap ack ack and blew up and all reports from pilots behind them only saw one survivor parachute out, I'm amazed he was listed as an MIA,
He relayed to me over the phone that had had been rescued under Japanese fire as dolphins tried to push his dinghy toward the shore fire.
There are many, many stories of downed American pilots in WWII being helped by dolphins.
Unfortunately for Mr. Chandler, he had to smack them away as they were pushing him right into three Imperial Japanese Army machine gun fire positions.He also sent a Christmas card, letter and official crew photo with the aluminum skin B-24 above. I immediately sent it to my seven brothers and sisters as a Christmas present.
Here is a photo his granddaughter sent me to see him with his wife and grandchildren after he passed.
He had a full life raising a beautiful family and running a construction business after WWII.
2005 - A contact of a contact of a contact puts me in touch with Phil Gudenschwager, 11th Bomber Group Association Secretary, Treasurer, and Historian. He encourages me to call Richard Chandler.
2007 - At a WWII Reenactment in Frederick, MD, I met the Pacific Wrecks founder, Justin Taylan and told him about Frank's mission. He adds the story to his Pacific Wrecks website. This adds one more link in the chain to identify American MIA's from the Pacific Theatre.
2009 - Bill Tarczy was kind enough to write his letter about the same events that day from a different view.
I asked Bill for some proof and he mentioned that he had a genealogy report that showed it. At Ray's funeral I brought it up and he said he would dig through some boxes in the garage and get it to me.
What is more important is that Bill dug up some old Curley family photos his father kept in his "Shadow Box."
The photo next to my "Screaming Like a Banshee" poem of my grandmother Margaret D'Arcy Curley and my Dad at the Honor Roll where Frank Curley was placed is one.
Younger grandad Harry Leo Curley with his tow-head sons on the stone staircase is another.
He also sent me a short list of Curley's who still serve the country. They are listed below at the end of this blog.
2017 Tom Loper, whose mother was the widow of Lt. Edwin Braesher, provides an update of his, Frank, and the crew's service on The 11th Bombardment Group webpage.
2021: On August 23, 2021 I received a call from an Army Case Manager for Frank's remains. She asked me to give a DNA sample to determine if the remains they identified as Frank's are really his.
She also asked for the name of a sibling who would be a 100% DNA, match, as I am only a 50% match.
I suggested Frank's only living sibling, Joe Curley.
I gave her Joe's contact information.
She agreed to talk to him about these developments an to send him a DNA kit. 
I received the Army DNA kit via FedEx on September 1.
I completed the test and all the accompanying data forms, signed the permission signature, and returned it via FedEx on Saturday, September 4, 2021.
The Army Case Manager told Joe it may take up to a year to discover if it is a positive DNA match.
So, MIA 1st Lt. Frank J. Curley's remains may be coming home to Arlington
I have faith it will be a much shorter determination and we will shortly honor Frank at Arlington so he may join his brother Bill and Ray in that sacred ground.
Dear God, after 77 years, there was hope that Frank's remains may soon be on an Angel Flight home...IF we can positively identify those remains using DNA samples from our family.
"Angel Flights are the U.S. Air Force planes (C-130's) used to fly home our Fallen Soldiers. Angel Flight is also their call sign. Now, of course, there are other flights that have an even higher priority, but in reference to other standard military flights, Angel Flights get number 1 priority."
This is a great mystery I hope to answer if I can discover from the Army the story of how his remains were recovered from the Pacific Ocean grave and somehow ended up in the Pearl Harbor grave.
Here is the latest update on this my now 47+ year search to discover what happened to him on that last mission.
Past Conflict Repatriation Branch Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operations Division Contacts Me Out of the Blue
On August 26, 2021 I received a phone call from a Case Manager (CM) for my Uncle Frank's remains.As it sounded like a sales call, I almost hung up on the person, especially as she asked me if "Bob" served and died in the Army.
"No. Bob is my brother, but my Uncle Frank served in the Army Air Corps in WWII."You could have knocked me over with a feather.
Here I thought I was going to scrape together enough money during retirement to hire a diving crew to search for his remains off HaHa Jima, Japan, where his B-24 Liberator exploded, split in two and went down on February 10, 1945...and she was telling me her office may be able to identify his remains using my DNA.
CM: "We also need the DNA of one of his siblings. Are any still alive?"
"Yes. His youngest brother Joe. His name is Joseph Curley. He was born the year Frank died and given his names to honor his sacrifice."I gave her Joe's contact information. She stated she would be sending Joe and I a DNA kit via FedEx.
When I informed Joe, and he was speechless, and Joe is a loquacious man and rarely speechless.
When Joe spoke to the Case Worker, she informed him that Frank's remains may be in a grave at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, otherwise known as the Punch Bowl.This blows my mind.
If he went down in the ocean (see below), how did his remains end up at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific?
Anyway, I created this Poetslfie blog at first as a way to figure out what happened to Frank and to honor Frank's sacrifice.
Given the 47 years of research that have gone into this task, I decided to include all the research links I found to help other MIA families locate their loved ones.
This Poetslife blog eventually morphed into a civil defense blog as another way to honor Frank's sacrifice.I wanted to help protect American lives and property from evil as he did but in a way that was more in line with my skill stack.
CM: "Fort Knox is where my office is located. We used to be at Arlington, but we ran out of space and relocated to Fort Knox, Kentucky. So, for any who did not know this as I did not, here is the current Army MIA location office.
U.S. Army
Department of the Army
Attn Past Conflicts AHRC-PDC-R
1600 Spearhead Div. Ave, Dept. 450
Fort Knox, KY 40122-5405
Tel: 1 (800) 892-2490
For those whose MIA served in other branches, each service branch has it's own office. See: Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Contact Page.
NOTE: At the end of this post you can see the latest update from Craig Gardner, Chief, Past Conflict Repatriation Affairs Operations Division, Department of the Army, U.S. Army Human Resources Command, 1600 Spearhead Division Avenue, Department 450, Fort Knox, KY 40122-5405. It shows the Case Summary Review.
This is a document you want to request about your MIA loved one. It is a wealth of information, details and fills in the gaps in their story. And extremely well written.
The poem by Irish poet W.B. Yeats, An Irish Airman Foresees His Death, has always reminded me of Frank's mission. I post it for that reason.
An Irish Airman Foresees His Death
I know that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above;
Those that I fight I do not hate,
Those that I guard I do not love;My country is Kiltartan Cross,
My countrymen Kiltartan's poor;
No likely end could bring them loss
Or leave them happier than before.
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds,
A lonely impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind
A waste of breath the years behind
Note: One Damned Island After Another: The Saga of the Seventh by Clive Howard and Joe Whitley is a very clearly written account about the USAAF 7th from Pearl Harbor to the end of WWII. The realistic illustrations and photos alone are worth the read.
They knew that if the American public knew of these WWII Japanese atrocities, it would inflame them, so they buried it.
The Next Generation...and the next...
My brothers and I are the next generation...and we are the fathers of the next generation after us. And now I have to add cousins to that. All of us have children. What does such sacrifice mean if it is not conveyed to the next generation who then conveys it to the next? My grandson knows what a B-24 is, what Frank accomplished, and what it meant to our freedom. Each generation passes down it's legacy or the legacy dies.
For Christmas years ago, I received this drawing "Flying Glory" from my then 9-year old Eamon. You will notice that in the drawing...one plane is going down...but another is completing the mission. The story continues...
Now, when Bill Curley sent me the photos from his dad Billy Curley, my uncle, his dad had kept the same photo Sister Agnes kept for 65 years and gave my sister Sue with him all his life of Frank in uniform before a lattice fence.
Additional Resources: For more information see:
On August 11, 2008 I gathered at Arlington with my cousins to bury their father, one of Frank's younger brothers, William "Billy" Curley (notice the bronze star). Bill served 25 years in Korea, Vietnam, Okinawa, England, Germany and other countries serving the American people in the U.S. Air Force.
The tradition of selfless service, patriotism, and love of country continues...as Billy's sons and many other Curley's continue to serve....
Charles Curley – US Army 1970-1992 (22 years)
Tom Curley – Air National Guard 1979 – present
(assigned to the 101st Air Refueling Wing Bangor, Maine).
(assigned to the 101st Air Refueling Wing Bangor, Maine).
Dave Curley – Air Force 1983-2005 (22 years)
Bill Curley IV – Air Force 1980-2000 (20 years – Desert Shield/Storm Vet). Stationed in Arizona, England, Singapore, Dover AFB, DE, Columbia, Middle East. Member of the Ground Launched Cruise Missile program – instructor for 4 years. On the mission “Scathe Mean” in 1991.
Here is how it is done as one family member contacts another family member to contact another family member that our shared DNA is to be interred at Arlington. Dad's burial ceremony is set for Monday, 11 August at
1:00pm. The 12th of August was not available for the Air Force honor guard. He is
being buried with full military honors. A Catholic priest will preside over the graveside ceremony. It will be hot here during August so dress lightly. Also, the gravesite is on a slope so you might want to wear shoes that will provide some traction. Billy
The Distinguished Flying Cross
For
his service in the Pacific with the USAAF in the 26th 
Bomber Squadron,
11th Bomber Group in WWII, Frank Curley was awarded the Distinguished
Flying Cross, an air Medal with 5 Oak Leaf Clusters, and a
Purple Heart. Frank's younger brother Ray was also awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross.
As he was a true quiet professional, I have no idea what Ray did in the Air Force.
But you can see photos of his life here on another blog post I created using photos about his life.
The Distinguished Flying Cross medal is awarded to any
officer or enlisted man or woman of the Armed Forces of the United
States who shall have distinguished himself in actual combat in support
of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while
participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918."
The
decoration may also be given for an act performed prior to November 11,
1918, when the individual has been recommended for, but has not
received the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, or
Distinguished Service Medal.
The Distinguished Flying Cross, authorized by an Act of Congress of July 2, 1926 (amended by Executive Order 7786 on January 8, 1938), was awarded first to Captain Charles A. Lindbergh, of the U.S. Army Corps Reserve, for his solo flight of 3600 miles across the Atlantic in 1927, a feat which electrified the world and made "Lindy" one of America's most popular heroes.
The first Distinguished Flying Crosse to be awarded to a Navy man was to Commander Richard E. Byrd of the U.S. Navy Air Corps on May 9, 1926 for his flight to and from the North Pole.
Both these famous aviators also received the Medal of Honor with the Distinguished Flying Cross.
The Aviatrix Amelia Earhart also received the Distinguishes Flying Cross.
Here was the only such award, as an executive order on March 1, 1927, ruled that it should not be conferred on civilians.
For more information on the Distinguished Flying Cross, contact DFCS, Editor, 4442 Vandever Avenue, San Diego, CA 92120.
The President is Hostage: Payback's a Bitch
As Americans have a short memory of how tenuous our freedom is, I wrote a novel called The President is Hostage: Payback's a Bitch.
There are lessons there for those who are willing to learn them.
It was originally written during the Reagan Administration.
There are lessons there for those who are willing to learn them.
It was originally written during the Reagan Administration.
A friend who worked in the White House asked me to write a white paper on the security gaps in the perimeter at that time.
I did so and the powers that be laughed at it then.
But in the following years, they used 18 of the 19 suggestions for improving security at the White House I made.
The primary one was to shut off the Pennsylvania Avenue stretch or road in front of the White House as it presented too great an opportunity to create damage.
I wrote the book as a way of fleshing out the white paper.
MIA Research Resources
Photos of Frank and his crew may be found at:
11th Bombardment Group Heavy (H) "The Grey Geese"
Pacific Wrecks does a great job of providing detailing of USAAF Pacific plane wrecks, especially MIA sites.
Here is Frank's Pacific Wrecks MIA page.
Pacific Wrecks does a great job of providing detailing of USAAF Pacific plane wrecks, especially MIA sites.
Here is Frank's Pacific Wrecks MIA page.
The American Battle Monuments Commission is a great way to find basic dates that will help you begin your research for your MIA family member.
Here is Frank's American Battle Monuments Commission page.
The Find a Grave website has a good search engine to locate your family service members gravesite.
Here is Frank's Find a Grave page.
Here is Frank's Find a Grave page.
The National Archives has a database with basic information on 9 million WWII service members.
National Archives at College Park
Here is Frank's National Archives page.
Here is Frank's National Archives page.
Honoring All Combat Veterans
The last line of Jack Womer and Stephen C. Devito's book Fighting with the Filthy Thirteen: The World War II Story of Jack Womer - Ranger and Paratrooper is "Remember us."
The book is about his 5-year paratrooper fight against Nazi Germany in close quarters combat in Europe with the most infamous squad of paratroopers in the 101st Airborne Division.
He landed behind enemy lines on June 6th, 1944.
His story here.
So...I am going to remember them...and what their sacrifice created: The United States of America, the Constitutional Republic, Freedom, Liberty and Opportunity.
Read on, especially you have children and grandchildren.
Keep the Faith
I started the research on MIA 1st Lt. Frank Joseph Curley over 47 years ago. I thought I was alone in this quest.
That was a mistake. There are many other American's out there on the same quest. Talk to them, help them, enjoy them.
I say this as I just returned from the Family Update POW/MIA Accounting meeting held in Norfolk, VA on November 19, 2022 hosted by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), http://www.dpaa.mil.
I met many family members who are trying to give the last measure of dignity to their loved ones sacrifice by identifying their remains so they may be given a military burial to honor their ultimate sacrifice.
Below, I will list numerous ways to begin to identify your loved one along with my own search for information about Frank's last mission. My prayer is that you do not go down the rabbit holes I did for decades and waste the time I did trying to locate information that is now readily available by contacting the resources listed here.
OK. There were not these resources in the 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 2000's, or 2010's...until in 2015 the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency was created to provide answers for missing service members families.
That is all in the past. Given what I saw and heard at the November 19, 2022 DPAA meeting, they have changed their formerly bureaucratic and frankly, cold ways, to realize they are on a holy quest to recover remains of the best warriors willing to die in horrible battles to secure our freedoms.I say this because I sat through a session where family members spoke of their loved ones and the hole left in their lives by the passing of their loved ones with no resolution to their last time on earth or where they perished.So many families told stores of their loved ones. I will briefly note one that hit me hard. One elderly woman on oxygen machine support spoke of her uncle tying his boots and telling her at 5 and her sister at 3 that "He had to go away but would be back to see them." He was killed in combat in Vietnam and never returned.She spoke eloquently about seeing various funerals over the years of seeing funerals on TV of previously undefined remains of servicemen being returned for burial and praying each time, "Uncle Tim, you will be next."That is faith. That is God's miracle unfolding in belief that defies all odds. I salute her for her courage fully aware that it is civilians and family members who ensure the success of our warriors overseas.
Below are resources to help you find the story of your loved ones military record and final hours. God Bless You in your Search. May it end in successful identification and burial of their remains.
In Frank's case, the Historical Analyst who spoke to me was clear. She stated:1. The violence of the ack-ack hitting the bomb bay with 500 pound sacks of fuel and 500 pound bombs created such a blast no remains of the crew members inside, including Frank's, could have possibly survived.
2. Even if their were remains, given that they were in the salt water Pacific Ocean for 80 years, nothing would remain to be recovered.Even with these facts, she said she was not an expert in underwater remains but would talk to the DPAA underwater diver remains experts to see if they believed any remains were recoverable from where Frank's crews was shot down.
I thanked her and said I understood she had a tough job, telling the majority of MIA families that there were no remains to recover, and thanked her for her work, concern, professionalism, and effort.
I did speak at the Family Update to inform the 200 families who attended that I had Internet links on this post that could help them in their search. I said I brought my card that they were welcome to take to further their research.Feeling the sadness in the room, I tried to read my poem "Screaming Like a Banshee" (below) I wrote in my 20's that started me on this quest. Unfortunately, as I tried to locate it on my phone, the writing was too small to read. The Marine who held the mike for me to find it was kind to do so, but I was unable to bring it up on my phone to read it.
Embarrassing, but I apologized and said I had brought cards with my blog post about Frank (here) to help with their research. Many came up and took my card afterwards. And that made the embarrassment of not finding the poem worth it.Special Note: Poetry can heal the soul. I offer the poem below in hopes they provide solace to all Veterans, but especially those who served in Afghanistan.
I wrote it for a friend who served two tours with the Army Special Forces in Vietnam. His niece's SEAL husband, after 20 years of duty most of which was in Afghanistan, and with three children, decided to end the pain by killing himself. Pete asked me to write a poem to read at the burial at Arlington.
It was one of the hardest poems I have ever written. I pray it provided some solace to his wife, three children, my friend, and their friends and family. It is below. It provided solace to the widow. My attempt to read "Screaming Like a Banshee" was to provide solace to the families a the POW/MIA DPAA Family Update in Norfolk, VA on November 19, 2022.
Special Note: Poetry can heal the soul. I offer my poems below relevant to this subject in hopes they provide solace to all Veterans, but especially those who served in Afghanistan.
The first one I wrote fore a friend who served two tours with the Army Special Forces in Vietnam. His niece's SEAL husband, after 20 years of duty most of which was in Afghanistan, and with three children, decided to end the pain by killing himself. Pete asked me to write a poem to read at the burial at Arlington.
It was one of the hardest poems I have ever written. I pray it provided some solace to his wife, three children, my friend, and their friends and family...and you.
Soft Feet Walk the Wet Green Grass at Arlington
Soft feet walk the wet green grass at Arlington,
Where a young mother cradles her baby and sons
Weeping softly in death-caused grief and pain
As her warrior husband is interred and remembered.
Many sing praises of his courage, bravery and strength
Under enemy fire in fierce battles in foreign lands.
She feels the baby move at her neck and cry out,
Hungry for food but unaware of the greater hunger.
The mother hears more words of praise from the chaplain,
She tries to maintain, but the knot of grief grabs her throat.
She sees the two boys fidgeting and looking about
And wonders how she will explain their father to them one day.
Her pain is now to a degree she knows as few do
The sword that has pierced her heart can never be removed
In this lifetime, and will stay with her until her own death:
Until then there are three children who must be raised.
As Christ hung on a Cross and Mary saw her son taken
So the Holy Spirit could be revealed to the human race,
This mother must protect, nourish, love and kindle
The spirit of these children co-created with her husband.
The wind blows and she looks up to see a man and a flag
Telling her how grateful the nation is for her husband’s sacrifice.
She knows now what every warrior’s widow must know,
The truth of his life work that became his mission:
His love for her was the reason he was willing to die,
That sacrificial love the reason these children live.
She cradles the baby and flag, takes the boys hands,
Stands and walks, despite the grief, to her destiny and duty.
November 14, 2017
Arlington, VA
MIA 2nd Lt. Frank J. Curley U.S. Army Human Resources Command Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operations Division Case Summary Review
Fire houses have men who know engines, electrical systems, software, tools, and what you need to get your truck or car fixed fast. 
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