Frank Patti was born in December 1924 in Hammond, Louisiana and grew up on a produce farm where his parents shared the same grounds with his paternal grandparents. He had a "good" childhood, learning to speak both Italian and English. He was educated in and around Hammond, went on to marry his high school sweetheart, and eventually earned an advanced degree in education from Louisiana State University. Patti made it through the Great Depression without knowing he was deprived. He remembers helping to build a tennis court in front of his high school building, and winning a dollar for perfect attendance. He said that when Pearl Harbor was attacked, everybody was "in an uproar" and "lining up to go." Then 17 years old, Patti said he didn't know much about Japan, but realized that if he had to fight, he wanted it to be in "civilized" Europe, not in Japan's disease-ridden jungles. He recognized that America wasn't "quite prepared," and though his father pretended he didn't care, his mother was disturbingly distraught. Patti registered for the draft when he turned 18, and eventually received a big envelope from Franklin Delano Roosevelt, which meant that, like all his friends, he was being called to the armed forces. Patti thought it was rather exciting, and looked forward to handling an M1 [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 rifle, also referred to as the M1 Garand] rifle. Given his choice of service, he signed up for the Army because they allowed him a longer time at home before he had to leave for basic training.

When he left Hammond in mid 1943, Frank Patti went to Camp Beauregard in Alexandria, Louisiana, where he was issued uniforms and a rifle, and lived in a tent. He gambled away all the pocket money his mother had given him on the first night there, and said he learned a lifelong lesson. After a couple of days he moved to Camp Fannin, Texas for 16 weeks of "hard work" in basic training. Patti completed the course, but had to return to Alexandria for a hernia operation and six weeks of recovery. Back in Texas, he nearly missed seeing his family and friends when he got in trouble over guard duty, but he appealed to a "Southern" officer and was allowed an anxiously awaited one night's leave. On 6 June 1944, he was on his way home for the weekend, when he read the headlines "Allies Invade Normandy" on the newsstand in the bus terminal. His leave was cut short by a telegram demanding he report back to camp. He went by troop train to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, and from there by ship to Glasgow, Scotland. The passage across the Atlantic was in a convoy, and thankfully there were no u-boat [Annotator's Note: German submarine] scares. Patti was impressed by the architecture, but stayed only a couple of days before traveling by train to London. Outside the city, the troops set up camp, and stayed for about a month while other units of the 84th [Annotator's Note: 84th Infantry Division] gathered. Once together, the division marched to Southampton, and crossed the Channel by ship to Omaha Beach. Behind them were the White Cliffs of Dover, Patti said, and he thought "it was nice." [Annotator's Note: Patti smiles.]

The 84th Infantry Division crossed on a big ship, and by way of a rope ladder Frank Patti debarked onto an LST [Annotator's Note: Landing Ship, Tank] built by Higgins Industries in New Orleans, Louisiana. He said when he landed on Omaha Beach it was still strewn with debris from the invasion, but there were no longer any human casualties around. He said he could hardly walk up with his full field pack and rifle, and felt bad for the poor soldiers who went in earlier, fighting their way through the water. Army trucks took them through France to Belgium where they waited to "jump off." Patti remarked that during war he and his comrades truly formed a band of brothers. They relied upon each other for survival. [Annotator's Note: Patti pauses in reflection.] His first battle was near Geilenkirchen, Germany, and Patti observes that once the Allies reached German soil, the enemy troops really began to fight. Patti's division's mission was to take Sudkreuz and the railway that ran through it. His unit [Annotator's Note: Company C, 1st Battalion, 333rd Infantry Regiment, 84th Infantry Division] was lined up, when the Germans opened up with small arms fire, and Patti's buddy was hit in the forearm. [Annotator's Note: Patti indicates the spot on his own arm.] He was sent back to England for two months with what he called a "million dollar wound." Patti's unit captured Sudkreuz, then waited for a counterattack. When it came, it was vicious. One of Patti's buddies was killed and another seriously wounded when artillery split a tree, sending it crashing down into the foxholes where the soldiers had sought protection. During that barrage, a piece of shrapnel hit Patti's steel helmet, but he was not injured. He called it a "baptism of fire," and started shooting everything he could see.

Frank Patti's division [Annotator's Note: Patti was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 333rd Infantry Regiment, 84th Infantry Division] fought through the Siegfried Line, and he remembers that with December [Annotator's Note: December 1944] came the Battle of the Bulge. He celebrated his birthday on 15 December, and the next day he was transferred from the Ninth Army to the First Army. Patti went by Army two-and-a-half-ton trucks through excruciating cold back to Belgium. His overcoat stayed frozen, and he was eating C-Rations and D-Rations. Fog was preventing air defense, and although it was extremely difficult, the ground mission was accomplished. One morning in January, the skies cleared and Pattie said there were thousands of planes in the air. He thanked God. Patti noted that Germans began wearing American uniforms, and were speaking English fairly well, and it was difficult to distinguish them from our Allies. While guarding a little dirt road, Patti and another G.I. encountered a group of soldiers dressed in white, and when they refused to halt and subsequently raised their rifles, Patti and his buddy "got the jump on them." Patti continued into Germany, making pretty good progress, and noted that by this time the soldiers seemed to be younger and younger. Patti didn't have any problem bringing replacements into the fold, and tried to help and protect them. One time, when it was raining and the Germans had his unit on the run, Patti was with a young Indian from Oklahoma, who said he was an atheist, and they were having difficulty digging in. Patti was afraid, and started praying, and the Indian was repeating the prayer right behind him. The Indian said that if God was going to help Patti, he wanted to be helped as well.

Frank Patti's unit [Annotator's Note: Company C, 1st Battalion, 333rd Infantry Regiment, 84th Infantry Division] crossed the Ruhr River, taking many bombed-out towns along the way. A letter was sent out to the effect that the American soldiers, now in enemy territory, must not patronize the civilians, and stay true to their tasks. The very next night, Patti said, he saw several of his G.I. buddies riding German girls on their bicycles, and he knew they couldn't be stopped. Along their route between the Rhine and the Elbe Rivers, they encountered a concentration camp for women. Of the 3,000 prisoners, 2,700 of them were Jewish. The Germans were using them for labor and working the fields. Many were starving, but the Americans were told not to try to feed them because it would hurt more than help them. In addition, they came upon a camp of Allied prisoners, some of whom had been there from as far back as the Italian campaign. Patti was called upon to speak to some Italian prisoners of war, mostly women, who were holding up in a basement. He addressed them in Italian, bared his curly black Sicilian hair, and tried to explain to them they were free. One old lady reminded him so much of his grandmother he wanted to cry. In time, he was able to lead them out to safety. Patti observed that the German soldier was a good, smart soldier, with good equipment, who followed the rules. Patti said that in defeat, the Germans didn't want anything to do with the Russians. While his unit sat on the Elbe River for about a month, waiting for the Russians to take Berlin, waves of German soldiers and civilians were trying to get captured by the Americans rather than end up in the hands of the Russians. They were desperate, according to Patti, and felt the Americans more civilized captors. He felt sorry for them, because the leaders of their country had brought them into that difficult situation.

When the Russians arrived, Frank Patti said the Americans had no orders, and just watched. He and two other G.I.s went among the Russian soldiers, and tried their liquor. He traded his wristwatch for a German Luger that one of the Russians was carrying. The Russian soldiers would visit the American camp as well, to play cards. Although they could not speak each other's language, the Russians and Americans would drink together, toasting Stalin [Annotator's Note: Russian Premiere Joseph Stalin], Roosevelt [Annotator's Note: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt] and Churchill [Annotator's Note: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill]. Patti stayed in Germany for about a year and a half, on occupation duty. There was little to do, and some of the G.I.s formed a little band. They traveled in a French Renault bus, painted in the colors of their division [Annotator's Note: 84th Infantry Division], playing at dances for the soldiers and displaced foreigners until the military authorities stopped them. Nevertheless, Patti thinks the life of a soldier was a good one. He grew up, got in shape, learned to follow orders and carry out missions. He feels every young person should have the experience for at least a year.

When he came out of the service, Frank Patti took advantage of the government's 52-20 program [Annotator's Note: government program which paid former servicemen 20 dollars a week unemployment pay for up to 52 weeks while they sought jobs] and married in July 1946. Through the G.I. Bill of Rights, he attended college and achieved a PhD in Education. He became a teacher, a principal, and a school board supervisor, moving quickly through the ranks because of political rivalries. He figured if he could make it through the war in Germany, he could make it through the war that was raging among the contentious school administration. He moved on to state legislation, and stayed there for 28 years as an elected official. He also joined the board of a local bank, and served in that position for 35 years.

Frank Patti did not want to stay in the Army once the war was over in Europe. He did not want to fight in Japan, and was happy when the atomic bomb ended the war there. He felt Truman [Annotator's Note: President Harry S. Truman] saved lives with his decision to end the tyranny. He remembers celebrating V-E Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945] with other G.I.s, and falling down and breaking a couple of bottles of bourbon. His best memories from the war center around his buddies and the comradeship they shared. Patti said he will never forget the friends he lost and those who were wounded. He knows it could have been him. He had dreams of his war experiences for years and years, but those were the days before the medical field identified post traumatic stress. Patti said he became a member of the armed forces because he had no choice, but the war had a positive effect on his life. He is proud of his contribution during World War 2, defending the flag, the constitution and our way of life. He gets aggravated when sports figures refuse to salute the flag he so loves. Patti feels that World War 2 ultimately rebuilt Europe and Japan, and made America a world leader. He is confident that The National WWII Museum is an important institution, especially as it carries out its mission in teaching today's youngsters about the war era. As a member of the "greatest generation," he feels he fared well, married well, and is enjoying the fruits of his efforts. He voiced his thanks for the opportunity to voice his opinions.