Frank Armstrong

Ballplayers Decorated in Combat

Date and Place of Birth:	May 24, 1902 Hamilton, NC
Date and Place of Death:	August 20, 1969 Tampa, FL
Baseball Experience:	Minor League
Position:	First Base
Rank:	Lieutenant General
Military Unit:	USAAF
Area Served:	European and Pacific Theaters of Operations

Frank A. Armstrong, Jr., was a highly decorated military leader, pioneering pilot, and minor league baseball player. He led the first and last USAAF strategic bombing missions of WWII, inspired the novel "Twelve O'Clock High," and served with distinction for 34 years.

Frank A. Armstrong, Jr., was born on May 24, 1902 in Hamilton, North Carolina. The son of Frank (a machinist) and Annie Armstrong, he had an older sister, Hazel, and a younger sister, Mary, who was born in 1905.

He attended Wake Forest College (now University) where he played baseball and football. During the summer of 1921, he played first base for the Kinston team in the outlaw Eastern Carolina League, an "outlaw" league since it existed outside of the law of the National Association, something that could have jeopordized his ability to play college sports. On the sports field, Armstrong was a hard worker as a half back and first baseman, but not much more than a good substitute until Hank Garrity, former Princeton quarterback, arrived at Wake Forest as the new coach in 1924. Under Garrity’s guidance in both sports, Armstrong developed into one of the safest backs on the championship football team and was captain (and batted clean-up) for the baseball championship team his senior year.

Graduating in 1925, Armstrong signed with the Detroit Tigers in June and was sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the Class AA International League. The Maple Leafs assigned the first baseman to the Kinston Eagles of the Class B Virginia League, where he played 15 games and batted .250 before joining the Raleigh Capitals of the Class C Piedmont League for 10 games.

During the off-season Armstrong taught and coached the football team at Selma High School in North Carolina, returning to the minors in 1926 with the Sarasota Gulls of the Class D Florida State League. The 24-year-old played 68 games in what was to be his last season in organized baseball, batting .253. Armstrong was dating Vernelle Hudson of Richmond, Virginia, at that time. “She said she would never marry a man with no more ambition than to play baseball,” he later recalled, “[so] I decided to enter the Air Corps.”

Armstrong embarked on an exhilarating journey, earning his pilot's wings and setting the stage for an extraordinary military career. In March 1929, he tied the knot with Vernelle, and their adventure continued with the arrival of their only child, Frank III, in March 1930.

Armstrong's career took off at Langley Field, Virginia, with the 2nd Bomb Group, and soon he was training future pilots at March Field, California. By 1931, he was shaping the next generation of aviators at Randolph Field, Texas, and climbed to the rank of first lieutenant in October 1934. His adventures continued as a pursuit pilot in the Panama Canal Zone later that year. In Panama on November 30, 1925, as a sign of things to come for Armstrong, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his skill in landing a Douglas OA-4A Dolphin amphibious flying boat after the right engine had exploded and the rest of the crew had been ordered to bail out.

In March 1937, Armstrong joined the 13th Attack Squadron at Barksdale Field, Louisiana, mastering the Northrop A-17 Nomad single-engine attack planes. By May 1939, he commanded the squadron, leading it through its transformation into the 13th Bomb Squadron (Light) with twin-engined Douglas B-18 Bolo bombers.

With Europe engulfed in war, Armstrong was thrust into action, heading to England as a combat observer with the Royal Air Force in November 1940. By February 1941, he was back in the States, taking command of the 90th Bomb Squadron at Savannah Army Airfield, Georgia. His rapid rise continued as he was promoted to major that year and then to lieutenant colonel in January 1942, becoming the Assistant Chief of Air Staff of Operations at US Army Air Forces headquarters in Washington, DC.

Shortly afterwards, Armstrong teamed up with Brigadier General Ira Eaker and headed to England to establish the legendary 8th Bomber Command, 8th Air Force. As the operations officer, he quickly rose to the rank of colonel. By July 1942, he was at the helm of the 97th Bomb Group, the first squadron of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers to reach England. From August to September 1942, Armstrong fearlessly led the 97th on six of its first 10 missions, including the groundbreaking first daylight heavy bomber raid over Nazi-held Europe by the USAAF. In January 1943, he took command of the 306th Bomb Group and spearheaded the 8th Air Force's inaugural mission to bomb a target in Nazi Germany. Armstrong's daring exploits inspired the novel "Twelve O'Clock High" by Sy Bartlett and Beirne Lay, Jr., with Gregory Peck immortalizing the book’s character of Brigadier General Frank Savage in the 1949 film adaptation, and Robert Lansing bringing him to life in the 1960s ABC television series.

In February 1943, Armstrong, aged 40, was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and became commander of the 101st Provisional Combat Wing, continuing to fly combat missions over Germany. On April 5, 1943, Armstrong was flying as an observer on a B-17 raid on Antwerp, Belgium, when the plane was hit and the navigator – Captain Robert J. Salitrnik - in the nose of the plane, was badly wounded. The blast knocked out the bomber’s hydraulic control and oxygen systems and damaged the propeller. With German fighters still attacking the formation, causing a fire in the cockpit, Armstrong grabbed an oxygen bottle and rushed to the aid of the navigator, who was bleeding from a leg wound. Armstrong applied a tourniquet and administered first aid. For this action, Armstrong was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Sadly, Salitrnik died 11 days later.

By June, he was leading the 1st Bombardment Wing. In September 1943, he returned to the U.S. to command the 46th and 17th Bombardment Operational Training Wings at Peterson Field, Colorado. November 1944 saw Armstrong commanding the 315th Bomb Wing at Peterson Field, training with the mighty Boeing B-29 Superfortress. Between March and April 1945, his wing was deployed to Northwest Field, Guam, to launch missions against Japan. Also at Northwest Field was Major Clarence “Soup” Campbell, squadron executive officer with the 16th Bomb Group, and former outfielder with the Cleveland Indians.

On August 15, 1945, Armstrong led the longest and final heavy bombing raid of the war, earning the incredible distinction of having led both the first and last USAAF strategic bombing missions of World War II.

With the war over, Armstrong made history in November 1945 by flying the first non-stop flight from Hokkaido, Japan to Washington, DC in a B-29 Superfortress. In January 1946, he became the Chief of Staff for Operations of the Pacific Air Command, US Army. When the US Air Force became a separate branch in September 1947, he served as deputy commanding general of the Alaskan Air Command at Fort Richardson, Alaska, until February 1949, and then as its commanding general until December 1950.

In January 1951, Armstrong took command of Sampson Air Force Base, New York. By May, he was leading the 6th Air Division, training the first Boeing B-47 Stratojet Wing at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. In 1952, he became the commander of the 2nd Air Force of the Strategic Air Command at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. Armstrong returned to the Alaskan Air Command in July 1956, and upon his promotion to lieutenant general, he commanded the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines Alaskan Command at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. He retired in July 1962, capping off an incredible 34-year military career.

Among his decorations during those years were the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal (with one oak leaf cluster), the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross (with four oak leaf clusters), the Air Medal (with one oak leaf cluster), the British Distinguished Flying Cross and the Belgian Croix de Guerre (with palm).

After retiring, Armstrong and his wife, Vernelle, settled in Tampa, Florida, a place filled with memories from his time at MacDill Air Force Base, and worked for the Automatic Merchandising Company, which operated and installed vending machines. Tragically, Vernelle passed away in February 1963, at the tender age of 54, leaving a void in Frank's heart after 34 years of marriage. In December 1963, he married, Peggy Lippe, owner of the Tampa Blueprint Company.

His son, Frank III, followed in his footsteps and served with the Air Force as a pilot. After flying jet fighters in Germany, he requested to serve in Vietnam in 1967. Just six weeks into his deployment, Major Frank Armstrong III was wounded by shrapnel and had to eject from his Douglas A-1E Skyraider single-seat piston-engined attack plane when it was hit by enemy flak. He returned to Florida in August to recover, spending precious time with his father and stepmother, his wife Vera, and their young son, Frank IV.

Tragically, Major Armstrong returned to Vietnam and was shot down again on October 6, 1967. This time, he did not survive, and his body was never recovered. He is remembered at the Honolulu Memorial in Hawaii, and the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, DC.

Reflecting on his son's bravery, his father said, “I am certain that he scheduled himself to fly this mission…It wouldn’t be like him to send other pilots out to take fire that he wouldn’t take himself.”

Less than two years later, Frank Armstrong was admitted to Tampa General Hospital in a critical condition on August 6, 1969. The 67-year-old passed away two weeks later, on August 20. He was laid to rest with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, alongside his first wife, Vernelle. His second wife, Peggy, passed away in March 1973, at the age of 55.

Year	Team	League	Class	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	AVG
1925	Kinston	Virginia	B	15	56	-	14	2	0	2	-	.250
1925	Raleigh	Piedmont	C	10	43	-	8	2	1	0	-	.186
1926	Sarasota	FSL	D	68	237	-	60	5	1	0	-	.253