Frank Aleksandrowicz was born in Erie, Pennsylvania in December 1921. He took time off from college to work as a delivery boy. He came into contact with a newspaper company. He managed to get a job as a photographer for the newspaper. He typed with two fingers. He knew a guy on the draft board and he asked if he would get drafted. When he turned 21 in 1942, he got his draft papers for the Army. He was at the newspaper in the photo department when he heard bells clanking. This was the day that Pearl Harbor was attacked [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. The president [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] came over the radio and said they were attacked by the Japanese [Annotator's Note: Day of Infamy Speech; President Roosevelt to a Joint Session of the United States Congress, 8 December 1941]. Aleksandrowicz had a brother who was stationed in the Philippines at the time. His brother wrote a letter saying he did not think they would ever see him again. He had to start preparing an extra paper. His brother died from dysentery [Annotator’s Note: dysentery is an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhea containing blood or mucus].

Frank Aleksandrowicz went to central Pennsylvania to report for duty. He had to take several exams. He thought he would be a photographer in the Army. He did not get into it. He had basic training in Alabama. He went to Michigan for Military Police training. [Annotator’s Note: Aleksandrowicz talks about some of the other men who became photographers]. He got along with the boys in his squad. Their platoon was good. Next, he went to the East Coast. They were escorts for convoys going to battle practice. When they went to Europe, his job was to keep the area clear of cigarettes or anything that would be visible to submarines. It took them four and a half days to get to Scotland, then they went to South England. They were in a fenced area, where the troops who left for Normandy [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944] had been. After D-Day, they landed in Normandy. No one seemed to have any fear. They went to an area where there were hedgerows [Annotator's Note: man-made earthen walls that surround a field that are often overgrown with impenetrable vegetation]. Aleksandrowicz slept there. He was bitten by mosquitoes. They used tanks with cutters to get through the hedgerows. They tried to make the local French people feel safe with the Americans and not like they were another invader. He worked with traffic control. He had to escort a man who knew about spies to the CIA [Annotator’s Note: Central Intelligence Agency]. On the way there they saw many dead Germans.

Frank Aleksandrowicz remembers that Normandy [Annotator's Note: Normandy, France] was a great place. Americans were loved by the people and the children. The soldiers would give the children gum or candy. The MPs [Annotator’s Note: military police] had to keep the soldiers from fighting each other. He dealt with drunk and disorderly conduct. He was in charge of traffic control. They had to monitor trains and protect merchandise. He worked with the 1st Army during the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945].

Frank Aleksandrowicz remembers that they moved from France to Belgium for the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945]. He almost got killed by a buzz bomb [Annotator's Note: V-1 pulse jet flying bomb, German name: Vengeance Weapon 1; Allied names: buzz bomb, doodlebug]. They were in the basement of a building the Germans had once occupied. They were getting ready to cook. He lay flat and the bomb hit about half of a block away from him. It smashed the building he was in. The building was over a foot thick. They could anticipate getting hit by a buzz bomb. After this, he met a girl walking across a bridge. They had checkpoints. The girl had a nice fur coat, blonde hair in a net, and leather boots. He asked her if he could see her. Her uncle was a Belgian commissioned police officer. They had an official dating affair. She later became his wife.

Frank Aleksandrowicz remembers that they were coming in on small ships. They went up a hill and to the bunkers on Omaha Beach [Annotator's Note: one of the landing beaches of D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. The battle was pretty well cleared up when he arrived on land. He did not see very many bodies. They were a week later than the initial invasion. They were within travel distance of the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945]. The airborne guys were on holiday in Paris [Annotator’s Note: Paris, France] and had been called back in. [Annotator’s Note: Aleksandrowicz talks about his family.] The MPs [Annotator’s Note: military police] were active in the battle. Their job was to keep the vehicles and supplies moving. They would get time off even in a peaceful area like England. He went to London [Annotator’s Note: London, England] and then ended up in northern England by train. In 1995, they had their 50th anniversary. [Annotator’s Note: Aleksandrowicz discusses photographs he had during the war.] He would get letters for reunions. They saw German prisoners put on train cars.

Frank Aleksandrowicz was approached by his captain to go to OCS [Annotator's Note: officer candidate school] in southern France. He did not want to go to Japan. He was discharged in November 1945. His wife came over in March. They sent some of their people into the infantry. After the war ended in Europe [Annotator’s Note: 8 May 1945], some men were transferred to the Pacific. He had been in long enough that he was able to get out. In England, he smashed into a wall on a rainy day with a jeep. Some of the things he brought back he shows off to the public when he goes to speak in schools.