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Apache Junction VFW, fire district help World War II veteran celebrate 95th birthday

Posted 9/24/19

Francis “Frank” Bragg at his Apache Junction home. (Richard H. Dyer, Independent Newsmedia) Apache Junction resident Francis “Frank” Bragg, a World …

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Apache Junction VFW, fire district help World War II veteran celebrate 95th birthday

Posted
Francis “Frank” Bragg at his Apache Junction home. (Richard H. Dyer, Independent Newsmedia)

Apache Junction resident Francis “Frank” Bragg, a World War II veteran, recently celebrated his 95th birthday with cake donated by a VFW post and visits by family, local residents and members of the Superstition Fire and Medical District.

Kelly Bartz, SFMD administrative specialist for EMS and training, recalls meeting Mr. Bragg last summer when he called for help with fixing storm damage to his home.

“When I met him last year, he had called the fire department because the monsoon had taken some of his roof off and he hadn’t been able to get it fixed and another storm was coming through so he called to see if any of our guys could come over and tarp it for him. So, they did come over and that’s when I met him so I’ve been visiting him ever since,” she said.

“I called her up and said, ‘I need help.’ And, she’s been with me ever since,” Mr. Bragg said.

Ms. Bartz and fire district officials congratulated him at his birthday last year, she said.

“We just thought 95 was a pretty special number so we thought we needed to do something,” she said. “I worked with the VFW and they kind of coordinated all the food and everything; that was nice.”

His sons, Frank and Stephen, both of Methuen, Massachusetts, attended the birthday party.

Apache Junction resident Johnny Insalaco presented Francis “Frank” Bragg with a plaque. (Richard H. Dyer, Independent Newsmedia)

So did members of VFW Post No. 9399, which added him to their rolls. Apache Junction resident Johnny Insalaco presented Mr. Bragg with a plaque stating that he is a member in good standing of the VFW.

Birthday cakes were made by Linnie Romero, VFW Post No. 9399 bar manager and junior vice of the auxiliary.

One of the birthday cakes were made by Linnie Romero. (Richard H. Dyer, Independent Newsmedia)

“The veterans mean the world to us --- especially the older ones who are still with us. That’s what we work for and we live for --- our veterans,” she said.

Mr. Bragg served in World War II in 1941-45 in the U.S. Army 296th Combat Engineer Battalion, landing near Normandy on D-Day 75-plus years ago. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge and recounted seeing victims’ bodies piled up when he arrived at Buchenwald concentration camp.

“I was in the Normandy landing, the Battle of the Bulge and I was in Buchenwald prison --- we had to free all of the prisoners they had there and everything and they were cremating them there,” he said.

“That was the lousiest thing, when you see dead bodies piled up 5 feet high, waiting to be cremated in the furnaces there and everything. They treated people … I can’t understand why they would treat anybody as bad as they do,” Mr. Bragg said.

The combat engineers also served in the Black Forest in the winter, Mr. Bragg said.

“And at Christmastime in the Black Forest --- we were there at 17 [degrees] below zero with only the summer clothes. And, after that they were going to send us to Japan --- fight them --- but then they had a converted aircraft carrier and they picked us up there in France and took us home and that was it,” he said.

Mr. Bragg has lived in Apache Junction for 40 years, working at a foundry, and then as a groundskeeper for the Apache Junction Unified School District. Prior to that he worked in a paper-box factory for 26 years. His wife, Agnes, died in 2016.

His secret to long life is love, Mr. Bragg said.

“To love everybody else and show your love to everybody and God bless everybody,” he said.

From left are Superstition Fire and Medical District Chief Mike Farber, Francis “Frank” Bragg and Apache Junction resident Johnny Insalaco. (Richard H. Dyer, Independent Newsmedia)

SFMD firefighters and paramedics and Fire Chief Mike Farber stopped by to wish Mr. Bragg a happy 95th birthday at his Apache Junction home.

“Our crews actually helped him repair his roof. Kelly (Bartz) has actually been the one who has fostered a relationship and been checking on him,” Fire Chief Farber said. “So he’s been someone we care immensely about, and especially honoring a hero from World War II is such a rare experience, even meeting somebody. So it’s an honor to come out and actually share this with him. A great man,” he said.

“I like the idea of getting into the community and knowing more of our older crowd. Frank’s just a hidden gem,” Ms. Bartz said.