SSgt Frank Stoltz, 84, of Miles City, Montana, served during World War II with the 44th Bomb Group, 506th Bomb Squadron attached to the 8th Air Force. Following U.S. Army Air Corps induction in April 1943 he completed basic training followed by Aerial Gunner School in Tyndall Field, Florida. He was deployed to England in May 1944, where his assignment was a top turret gunner on a B-24 Liberator bomber. His duties also included the dangerous task of arming bombs once the aircraft reached enemy territory. On June 21, 1944 during his 12th bombing mission, his plane was shot down over Germany. Frank bailed out but suffered several broken ribs when he got caught in the slipstream of his parachute. He was immediately captured near Wetzler, Germany and transferred to a new POW camp northwest of Auschwitz, Poland housing approximately 10,000 mostly Allied Air Force prisoners. In late January 1945 the Russian Army overran the Auschwitz area and began bombing the POW camp in early February. The prisoners were then broken up into smaller groups and forcibly marched across Poland and Germany for over 80 days in what was called the Black March because the bitter cold caused limbs to turn black from frostbite. The prisoners took shelter wherever they could at night, often sleeping in the open and huddled together for warmth. In early May 1945 his POW group marched up to Allied lined but were fired upon by British soldiers who though they were enemy. It was not until several days after the war ended on May 8, 1945 that his group reached safety at American lines. In June of 1945 he was shipped back to Santa Monica, California on a hospital ship and spent several month recuperating. Frank Stoltz’s significant decorations include the Purple Heart, Air Medal, and the Prisoner of War Medal. He was discharged at the Sioux Falls Army Air Force Separation Center in South Dakota in October 1945.
Frank was born in Flasher, North Dakota in February 1924. He grew up on a farm and never made it past 6th grade but later earned a GED during the early days of World War II. As a teenager he left the family farm, went to welding school and landed a job at a Seattle shipyard before being drafted into the Air Corps. In 1946, after the war, Frank went to work as an apprentice in auto-body work. In 1955, he opened Frank’s Body Shop in Miles City in which he is still actively involved today along with his son Tim. Frank is also active in state and local POW organizations and in 2002 was inducted into the Montana Tow Truck Association Hall of Fame. He maintains a current pilot’s license and flies his own Bellanca airplane around the state, often to attend business meetings. Frank and his wife Patricia have been married for 60 years and have five children: Dan, Debra, Melissa, Patrick and Tim.