Tec5 Paul William Frantz (WWII)


Remembering Tec5 Paul William Frantz (Fairmont)

September 28, 1923 - December 17, 1944

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Note: WWII Tec5 status is equivalent to CPL, so some records have Paul listed as Tec5, others say CPL.

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Tec5 Paul William Frantz (Service #35752794) was born in Lumberport, West Virginia on September 28, 1923, the son of Henry and Margaret (Nichols) Frantz.

Their family lived in a number of places in Fairmont over the next two decades (see note at bottom), while Henry worked as a painter (1927 City Directory), plumber, "general utility worker," and later at North Pole Ice, before settling down in Paul's final home, at 38 Freeland Street in 1939 (1939 City Directory). It is interesting to note that another fallen Marion County servicemember, S1C Dale Franklin Cox, lived at 34 Freeland Street at the same time that Paul lived at 38 Freeland Street (1940 Census).

Paul attended St. Peter's High School in Fairmont, housed in what is now Fairmont Catholic Grade School. A newspaper article referred to him as "former St. Peter's High School basketball star/"

Military Service:

Paul registered for the draft on June 30, 1942, age 18. At the time of registration, he worked for B.L. Brooks at Brooks Grill on Fairmont Avenue. Fallen servicemember PVT George Cozad worked there around the same time. Paul was 5'7" and 150 lbs, with brown eyes, black hair, and ruddy skin.

He enlisted in Clarksburg, WV on April 10, 1943, and became a member of the 18th Cavalry, Mechanized Reconnaissance Squadron, Troop C. According to a January 24, 1945 article in the Fairmont Times, Paul received training at Fort Riley (Kansas), For Lewis (Washington), Camp White (Oregon), and Camp Maxey (Texas).

From the New Jersey Calvary and Armor Association: "18th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized: Activated as the 18th Reconnaissance Squadron on 8 July 1943, redesignated as the 18th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron on 10 November 1943. Arrived in UK 5 September 1944, disembarked over Omaha Beach 30 September. Arrived in Belgium on 19 October, assigned Task Force X along Siegfried Line. Moved to Losheim Gap 11 December, hit by German Ardennes offensive 16 December."


Missing in Action during the Battle of the Bulge:

On December 17, 1944, Tec5 Paul William Frantz was captured by the Germans. In a now declassified statement found in Paul's Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF), POW Tec5 Harmon W. Beyer (of the same unit) gave a witness statement that "soldier was shot to death for failure to give information concerning location of gasoline dump." He was buried near Born, Belgium.

Paul's family received a telegram on January 20, 1945 that he was missing in action. In March of 1945, he was declared Killed in Action (The Fairmont Times, 3/29/45).


Legacy and Survivors:

Tec5 Paul William Frantz was initially moved from Born, Belgium and interred at the Henri-Chappelle American Cemetery in Belgium. Paul reached his final resting place at Holy Cross Cemetery in Fairmont, West Virginia on December 26, 1947. 

Paul was survived by his parents, Henry and Margaret, older brother, James, and sister-in-law, Ruby. James also served in WWII.

He is honored on the "Marion County Veterans Killed in Action" Memorial at Veterans Square in Fairmont, WV, and at the  West Virginia Veterans Memorial in Charleston, WV. 


Sources and Other Information:


Places the Frantz Family Lived:

Here are some (but probably not all) of the places the Frantz family lived in Paul's lifetime. All info from the Fairmont City Directory of that year, unless otherwise noted.

  • 1920: 1323 Chamberlain Street (1920 Census)
  • 1923: Lumberport (Paul's birth record)
  • 1927: 8 Gaston Row
  • 1929: 802 Virginia Avenue
  • 1930: 308 8th Street (1930 Census)
  • 1931: 925 Chamberlain Avenue
  • 1933: 923 Chamberlain Avenue
  • 1939: 38 Freeland Street
  • 1943: 513 Quincy Street



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