Frank N. Savage was born in June 1921 in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. His parents had a difficult time during the depression [Annotator's Note: Great Depression], but Savage had a happy childhood. His father worked at the local distillery when it was allowed to operate. He also worked for the city. Savage's family lived in his grandmother's duplex. As a kid, Savage helped keep the garden free of bugs, and would try to sell some of the vegetables. His family did not talk about what was happening around the world. After World War I, they did not want anything to do with another war. As a kid, Savage was more interested in games. His father and uncle both served in World War 1. His father talked about the devastating battles and the trench warfare. They would hide as much as possible in the muddy and waterlogged trenches. Savage was walking around town when he heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He knew he would be going into the military. Savage had completed the citizen's military training courses [Annotator's Note: Citizen's Military Training Camps or CMTC] earning a commission as a second lieutenant in the Army. As a reservist, his uncle encouraged the training. During his third year of training, Savage marched in a parade. His parents came to see him. During that year, Savage developed appendicitis and spent a month in the hospital. Despite that hospital stay, Savage was given the commission.

Frank Savage was sent to Fort McClellan, Alabama. His aunt made a uniform for him so he could arrive with something identifying him. His trip to Alabama was a special experience for him. Once he arrived, he went through basic training as the company commander of his training company. He met his sergeants and asked for them to give him as much help as possible, which they respected. His duties included teaching drill, using a rifle, offensive and defensive training, and how to be good soldiers. It was very physical. Savage knew the kids were like him, new to military life and he understood them. He enjoyed trying to make people fit and ready for their duties, including defending themselves. The responsibility made him grow up fast. While in the 31st Infantry Division, Savage sat on all three levels of the military court system, despite not being trained in law. He sat on four cases. Two were general court martials and on two he acted as the defense council. He was chosen because he was reasonable. Savage would inspect rifles, teach a class on chemical warfare, then do a five mile march in the afternoon. He trained the men on rifle ranges and how to clean their weapon. At the end, the men had to do a 20 mile march. Savage did that duty for seven months. He grew up quickly. He had no doubt the United States was going to win the war, but knew there would be a cost. He does not understand why there is war. Savage was ready and wanted to go into the battle. While he was teaching school, he was also taking refresher courses and inspections. It made him a better officer and made him more physically fit. While at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, Savage was put in charge of getting the staff officers of the division in shape. The staff did not like him after that experience.

Frank Savage completed amphibious training at Hampton Roads, Virginia. To pass the test, the soldiers had to get ashore and take a city, which they did. On his first day ashore, the men watched from the deck as they moved down the east coast. The weather was bad. Savage watched the destroyer escorts get lost in the waves. He then got sick and went back to his bunk and did not leave it until he got to the Panama Canal. At the Panama Canal, the ship docked and the soldiers did jungle training. He knew he was going to the Pacific because he received summer gear. At Fort Clayton [Annotator’s Note: Panama], an aircraft carrier docked near the troop ship. Savage saw someone who was from his home town. Once they were underway, the ship zig zagged across the Pacific. Savage thought he was going to Australia, but ended up at Buna Bay, New Guinea. The area was not the best to land, but the troops got it in shape. The following day, General MacArthur [Annotator’s Note: General Douglas MacArthur] drove past the troops and welcomed the general of the division.

Frank Savage's first duty was to acclimate to the climate and patrol up the coast of New Guinea. The Japanese had moved up the coast. The climate was miserable. After one particularly miserable patrol, Savage gave his report to the assistant commander, then fell asleep in the general's jeep. The general planned on napping in the jeep. When he saw Savage asleep, he decided not to wake him. Savage moved up the coast and relieved another division in the Wakde-Sarmi area. After getting into position, the Japanese attacked, but the division [Annotator's Note: 31st Infantry Division] held it off. Savage was in command of the protection of the rear echelon of the headquarters. Looking through artillery field glasses, they could see the Japanese moving. Early in the morning, artillery started firing on the Japanese position. Savage was asleep, but the firing scared him awake. The area was swampy, making their feet wet. That was Savage's first combat, but he was never in a direct firefight. Everything was close together, and he worried about his troops. He worried because the friendly mortars would blow up near his men. One soldier was his by shrapnel.

The division [Annotator's Note: 31st Infantry Division] was then transferred to the island of Morotai [Annotator's Note: Maluku Islands, Dutch East Indies now Indonesia]. Still in the rear echelon, Frank Savage was supposed to land on D plus 6 [Annotator's Note: six days after the invasion day]. He did not get ashore until D plus 21 because the troop ships never showed up. While on the beach, Savage saw a tsunami coming towards the beach. His men saved what equipment they could before the wave hit. They lost a lot of stuff, including the staff officers' equipment. Once on Morotai, he spent a month signing certificates of loss. Morotai was a quiet island, with barely any Japanese resistance on the island. Every other night, a single Japanese plane bombed the nearby airfield. When the plane would come, the soldiers would have to jump in their foxholes. Eventually the plane was shot down. Shrapnel would fall on the troops and put holes in their tents. One of his men was injured during a friendly fire incident. Back on New Guinea, the 93rd Infantry Division [Annotator's Note: an all African-American division] was being disbanded and turned into labor battalions. Roosevelt [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States], had the division reestablished. The division had already lost all of its officers. Because he did not get along with his CO [Annotator's Note: commanding officer], Savage volunteered to transfer to the 93rd Infantry Division. He got into a disagreement with his CO over the demotion of a platoon sergeant. When Savage refused to demote the sergeant, he was arrested and confined to his quarters. He then asked the chief of staff for the transfer.

Frank Savage transferred to the 93rd Infantry Division. He became the assistant to the Adjutant of the special troops of the division. He was hoping for a promotion from captain to major. His first task was to arrange a division parade. During the parade, he stood between the units and the band and ran the show. When the parade finished, the assistant division commander told him he did a good job. After several months, the division was told to relieve the 31st Infantry Division on Morotai [Annotator's Note: Maluku Islands, Dutch East Indies now Indonesia]. Savage was sent to the island early to meet with his old colonel and his staff. The island was being used as a port for the invasion of the Philippines. He was on the chief of staff's staff running the islands port. He visited every ship that went into the harbor and sent their loads to the appropriate place. He ran the port for four months. During that time, he received a message from the Navy saying they were bringing in a ship with 300 Japanese soldiers on it. The Navy had taken over a Japanese hospital ship and brought it to the port. After taking care of the soldiers and cleaning the ship, the Japanese were sent to MacArthur's [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area] headquarters. Savage was given the job of unloading the ship and having it cleaned. He tried to save a box of surgical instruments as a souvenir. The instruments were stolen, but he kept the box.

Troops were leaving Mortai [Annotator's Note: Maluku Islands, Dutch East Indies now Indonesia] to invade the Philippines. The Navy took over port duties and Frank Savage went back to the division [Annotator's Note: 93rd Infantry Division]. A month later, Savage was awarded the Bronze Star [Annotator's Note: the fourth-highest award a United States service member can receive for a heroic or meritorious deed performed in a conflict with an armed enemy] for his good work and the port. A copy of the citation was sent to his father, who was proud. A few weeks later, Savage was made a member of the general staff of the division. He was nervous about the position, but one of the sergeants, a black man, taught him how to do the job. Savage is grateful to that sergeant. He never thought he would ever end up in that position. He finished the war on that staff. He met with the general [Annotator's Note: US Army major General Harry H. Johnson] every day. He would get the general's signature for every award or promotion given in the division. He also gave reports on the coming and goings of the divisional troops. He was the assistant G-1 [Annotator's Note: personnel officer], but did all the work while his boss got the title.

Frank Savage was surprised to be relieving the 31st Infantry Division on Mindanao. That division was hit hard in the invasion. The Japanese had almost taken over the divisional command post. The man who took over Savage's position was awarded the Bronze Star [Annotator's Note: the fourth-highest award a United States service member can receive for a heroic or meritorious deed performed in a conflict with an armed enemy]. When visiting his old colonel, Savage saw him go pale when he saw Savage's new insignia. The people on the island were trying to get their lives back to normal. Savage and his unit [Annotator's Note: Savage was the assistant personnel officer for the 93rd Infantry Division] were trying to make the civilians take over the rebuilding. Savage wanted to go to Japan for occupation duty, but was never sent. Savage decided to stay in the military and make a career. Seeing how hard Savage was working on the staff work, the chief of staff told Savage he wanted him on his staff. At some point, Savage decided that he wanted to be discharged instead. Returning home was wonderful. The family had moved into a big home in Greendale [Annotator's Note: Greendale, Indiana]. His younger brother was a radioman in the Navy. They arrived home on the same day but his brother was not out of the service yet.

Through the various responsibilities he performed, Frank Savage was shown his talents. He thinks it equipped him for the rest of his life. Being the first of six children, he became a self-developed person. He still creates things in his spare time. His motivation to serve came from the civilian military training course he did in high school. Reading military books at his uncle's house also inspired him to join the military. His father and uncle both told him stories of their service which helped him decide to serve. He does not understand why wars have to be fought and thinks that reason should be the answer. He also believes in compromise. He believes teaching World War 2 is important. During an anniversary for the founding of Lawrenceburg [Annotator's Note: Lawrenceburg, Indiana] he asked the city to make a monument to the founders of the town. A plaque was put up in their honor. He does not think that war is ever the answer.