The POW art of Frank Hokr
Frank Hokr was just a teenager when he tried to enlist in 1941. He didn't make it in, but a few years later he was joining the crew of a B-17 headed for the skies of Germany. On their first flight, Frank's crew was shot down over Slovakia. While bailing out at 17,000 feet, Frank went to pull the ripcord on his parachute only to find the 1/8th steel cable had been cut in two by flack. Ripping off his gloves, he struggled with freezing hands to manually pull out the chute. After a few, heart stopping moments, the canopy popped open and he drifted silently to earth. Upon landing, a German soldier quickly ran up to him and said in his best broken Engilsh, "Fer you, da var is over."
It turns out that Frank had Slovakian heritage and had always wanted to visit the county - but not as a guest of the German Luftwaffe. While a POW, Frank made the best of his time, honing his talent as an illustrator, reading and documenting Kregie (POW) life. Frank's practice with his art came to good use as he went on to be a successful, professional graphic artist.
It turns out that Frank had Slovakian heritage and had always wanted to visit the county - but not as a guest of the German Luftwaffe. While a POW, Frank made the best of his time, honing his talent as an illustrator, reading and documenting Kregie (POW) life. Frank's practice with his art came to good use as he went on to be a successful, professional graphic artist.
Frank's return to Slovakia
Frank's return trip to Slovakia in 2000 was one of the highlights of his life. On a beautiful hillside, overlooking the town of Trencineska, Treplice, Slovakia, Frank and his fellow crewmates searched through the trees and brush to find singed pieces of aluminum and 50-caliber shell casings from their abandoned Liberator. As they picked though the corroded memories of a fateful day in 1945, few words were spoken. They knew, it could have just as easily been one of them buried beneath the wreckage. Rollie Morin, the Sperry ball gunner, was the only crewmember who did not survive the crash. The Slovaks erected a simple, wooden cross memorial several years after the war. Answering the invitation of the Mayor, Frank and his friends traveled back to Slovakia to honor Rollie with the locals. Speaking the language of his ancestors, Frank embraced the Mayor and expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the hillside monument honoring his friend. Wiping tears from his eyes, Frank said, "I will never forget this moment and I will never forget you."
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