Frank Eugene Mitchell was born the youngest of seven children in a farm house south of Tecumseh, Nebraska. Raised on a farm during the thirties, the tough times tempered him as he grew into a capable young man. He was bright and did well in school, graduating from Tecumseh High School in 1940. After attending Lincoln School of Commerce for a year, he enlisted in the Army in April 1941 and entered pilot training in 1942. Graduating in 1943, he qualified as a bomber aircraft commander and joined the 460th Bomb Group in Italy in July of 1944. On his first combat mission, his aircraft lost an engine and he and his crew were forced to bail out over Yugoslavia. The only crew member to avoid capture, Frank was assisted by local resistance forces, returning to his squadron to fly another 34 missions over eastern Europe before returning home in 1945. On Valentine's day in 1946, he married Betty Kurtz and started raising a family. He and Betty had four children as new assignments took them across the length and breadth of the country. A devoted father, he took a strong, active interest in his children, coaching little league baseball and serving as a scout leader. He was in the process of receiving an additional aeronautical rating as a navigator when he was medically grounded for diabetes in 1956. After a four year tour in Japan, he retired in 1961 and returned to the southeast Nebraska country he had grown up in. In his Air Force career, he had risen from the rank of private to retire as a lieutenant colonel and had won the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism in aerial combat. One career behind him, Frank started a second career with First Insurance of Lincoln. He put down roots for the first time in over twenty years, established a home in Lincoln and raised his family. On April 11, 1981, he married Vesta Hoffart. After retiring from his second career in 1984, Frank and Vesta traveled, enjoyed their grandchildren, and spent many relaxing days at a vacation cabin on the Blue River. He was at home on the peaceful river and one of his greatest joys was sharing that with the people he loved.