Frank Frazier - Mickey Strand - Veterans Series

Mickey Strand - Veterans Series

The Veterans Portrait Series

Mickey is a retired Navy Photographers Mate, Chief Petty Officer, and was the Leading Chief of the Navy's elite Combat Camera Group Pacific. Mickey's current focus is the Veterans Portrait Series, which documents veterans' stories of service. He is focused on our Worlds' Greatest Generation. The veterans of World War II. 

Mickey interviews each Veteran, collecting and writing their service stories, archiving these notable historic figures and their stories for generations to come. Mickey has collected and displayed images and stories from over 100 warriors that at one point, signed the dotted line when our country needed their sacrifice of service most.  Mickey continues to collect Veterans from all services for the Veterans Portrait Series. In 2019 this body of work was displayed at the Palm Beach Photographic Centre Museum from Nov 11, 2019 — to March 1, 2020.

Mickey and the project were in the national spotlight, featured on the Sunday Today Show with Harry Smith Today Show Link to YouTube.  See the Google 360 Virtual walk through from the Palm Beach Museum Exhibit. Enjoy, and thank you for your help with this project. In 2022 Mickey has photographed over 25 more WW2 Veterans and will be hosting a print show in San Diego in November with an open house on Veterans Day.

Featured Veteran

Wayne C Davis
US Army
CPL
World War 2

     Wayne Davis was born on August 9, 1925, and grew up in Hollywood, California. He graduated from Hollywood High School in the summer of 1943 and was inducted into the Army at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro, California.
 After basic training, Wayne attended advanced individualized training as an airplane and engine mechanic with a MOS of 747(AEM). An AEM is responsible for examining aircraft wings, fuselage, stabilizers, flight control surfaces, propeller, and landing gear for evidence of damage or wear, such as cracks, bent or broken members, and looseness, which might cause dangerous vibration. AEMs correct defects by appropriate maintenance, minor repairs, adjustments, or replacement. 

   Wayne spent very few days working on aircraft and spent the majority of his service time with infantry units, where men were needed most.

   Private Davis served in Europe from June 1944 until January 1946 in campaigns including Northern France and the Rhineland, as well as the Central Europe campaigns. CPL Davis was promoted in August of 1945 and served as a CPL until he completed his tour in Europe. Corporal Davis was awarded the Bronze Star for heroism when he ran into a burning munitions dump that had been shelled. He returned three times and pulled three soldiers out to safety. Wayne has a key that he had worn around his neck that today bears a mangled piece of shrapnel embedded with the key that looks to have saved his life that fateful day.

   After he was discharged, Wayne flew with an Air Corps friend in a B-25, delivering mail all over Europe during the early days of the occupation forces. Wayne's sister, Marjorie Laverne “Margie” Davis, was a pilot in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) with the 2563rd Base Unit. She died October 16, 1944, in service on a cross-country flight at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, TX.  
 Wayne returned to the United States, serving stateside from 12 January 1946 until 2 February 1946, when he returned to Fort MacArthur in San Pedro, California, to separate from the service.

   Corporal Davis was Honorably Bischarged on February 11, 1946. He was awarded a Combat Infantryman Badge, the Bronze Star Medal, the European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and a Good Conduct Medal.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Where can I donate?

I have created a way to accept donations to grow the project, use the WWII Veterans Portrait Series
  Go Fund Me.

Where are you located?

I live in the San Diego area but have traveled to many locations to interview and photograph Veterans.


How Long is an Appointment?

Appointments usually last 1 hour. But please free up time for Mickey to set up lights and cameras, hold the interview, and take some photographs for the project.

Do you accept reservations?

Yes is the simple answer to the question.  Each appointment is set up as an individual session. Group sessions have been set up when I visited a senior living facility or many of the California Veterans Homes.

Copyright © 2024 Mickey Strand – Veterans Series
Frank Frazier was born on Nov 17, 1929, and grew up on a farm in Texas before moving to San Antonio after his father's passing. After graduating from Central Catholic High in 1947, Frank attended Texas A and M Corps of Cadets School, graduating with an Aeronautical Engineering degree. Frank was commissioned as a 2nd Lt after four years of ROTC at Texas A and M. Frank selected his path early in life. When working in the fields at seven, a barnstormer buzzed the farm and lit his passion for flight. He received his pilot's license at 16, in a Piper J3 Cub during his senior year of High school when lessons and flight time at Stinson field were only $8 an hour. He mowed lawns, worked summers in the oil fields, paid for flight time, and then went through college, graduating debt-free. Second Lt. Frazier reported to Air Force Primary flight training at Malden Army Airfield, Missouri, flying the North American T-6 Texans. He then reported for six months to Williams Air Force Base, Phoenix, AZ, for advanced flight training in Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star subsonic jet trainers. He finalized his training in the North American F-86 Sabre Jet at Nellis Air Force Base Las Vegas. This was the jet he would be flying for combat operations in Korea. In Feb 1953, Frank reported to Korea, flying with the 336 Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing out of K-14 Kimpo (Gimpo) Korea. He patrolled “MIG Ally,” protecting Fifth AF bomber operations from MIG-15 attacks. In early June, he got his first kill against a MIG-15, and on the 19th, he shared his 2nd kill. Frank flew 63 missions during his deployment and returned home after the end of combat operations. Frank returned to Edwards AFB to work as a Flight Test Engineer for four years. During this time, Capt Frazier was reassigned to Seattle as a test pilot for the Boeing B-52 acceptance test flights and flew the third airframe built in 1954-5. He followed that with four years at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, using his Aeronautical Engineering degree to test equipment and new aircraft. With all this work as an engineer, Frank decided he wanted to fly these new jets and was assigned to the Test Pilot School at Edwards in 1957. 1st Lt Frazier graduated as a USAF Experimental Flight Test Pilot on 3 Jan 1958. Frank participated in the original Mercury Project in 1958. He went through all of the tests and evaluations with the 32 members’ perspective astronauts and found out years later that he was the 10th man on the list of the seven selected astronauts. In 1959 Frank was testing a B-47 Stratojet and set the world record at the time flying for 80 hours and 36 min. Maj Frasier served in 67-68 in Vietnam, flying 115 missions, with the 497th Tactical Fighter squadron, the Night Owls, in F-4 phantoms performing low-level night ground support missions. Returning to Edwards AFB after Vietnam, Lt Col Fraser served as the Deputy Commandant Aerospace Research School, where he joined the M2 club, having traveled twice the speed of sound or Mach 2, on 6 Sep 63 in a Convair F-106 Delta Dart. Frank retired in March of 1972 after packing all that excitement into 20 years, nine months, and 12 days of active duty. Frank continued flying for over 12 years in many aircraft until retiring from the flight with over 30 thousand hours of flying time. Frank received the distinguished flying cross with three oak leaf clusters.
Frank Frazier - Mickey Strand - Veterans Series
Frank Frazier was born on Nov 17, 1929, and grew up on a farm in Texas before moving to San Antonio after his father's passing. After graduating from Central Catholic High in 1947, Frank attended Texas A and M Corps of Cadets School, graduating with an Aeronautical Engineering degree. Frank was commissioned as a 2nd Lt after four years of ROTC at Texas A and M. Frank selected his path early in life. When working in the fields at seven, a barnstormer buzzed the farm and lit his passion for flight. He received his pilot's license at 16, in a Piper J3 Cub during his senior year of High school when lessons and flight time at Stinson field were only $8 an hour. He mowed lawns, worked summers in the oil fields, paid for flight time, and then went through college, graduating debt-free. Second Lt. Frazier reported to Air Force Primary flight training at Malden Army Airfield, Missouri, flying the North American T-6 Texans. He then reported for six months to Williams Air Force Base, Phoenix, AZ, for advanced flight training in Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star subsonic jet trainers. He finalized his training in the North American F-86 Sabre Jet at Nellis Air Force Base Las Vegas. This was the jet he would be flying for combat operations in Korea. In Feb 1953, Frank reported to Korea, flying with the 336 Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing out of K-14 Kimpo (Gimpo) Korea. He patrolled “MIG Ally,” protecting Fifth AF bomber operations from MIG-15 attacks. In early June, he got his first kill against a MIG-15, and on the 19th, he shared his 2nd kill. Frank flew 63 missions during his deployment and returned home after the end of combat operations. Frank returned to Edwards AFB to work as a Flight Test Engineer for four years. During this time, Capt Frazier was reassigned to Seattle as a test pilot for the Boeing B-52 acceptance test flights and flew the third airframe built in 1954-5. He followed that with four years at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, using his Aeronautical Engineering degree to test equipment and new aircraft. With all this work as an engineer, Frank decided he wanted to fly these new jets and was assigned to the Test Pilot School at Edwards in 1957. 1st Lt Frazier graduated as a USAF Experimental Flight Test Pilot on 3 Jan 1958. Frank participated in the original Mercury Project in 1958. He went through all of the tests and evaluations with the 32 members’ perspective astronauts and found out years later that he was the 10th man on the list of the seven selected astronauts. In 1959 Frank was testing a B-47 Stratojet and set the world record at the time flying for 80 hours and 36 min. Maj Frasier served in 67-68 in Vietnam, flying 115 missions, with the 497th Tactical Fighter squadron, the Night Owls, in F-4 phantoms performing low-level night ground support missions. Returning to Edwards AFB after Vietnam, Lt Col Fraser served as the Deputy Commandant Aerospace Research School, where he joined the M2 club, having traveled twice the speed of sound or Mach 2, on 6 Sep 63 in a Convair F-106 Delta Dart. Frank retired in March of 1972 after packing all that excitement into 20 years, nine months, and 12 days of active duty. Frank continued flying for over 12 years in many aircraft until retiring from the flight with over 30 thousand hours of flying time. Frank received the distinguished flying cross with three oak leaf clusters.