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| Radioman 3rd Class Guy Frazier, photographed with wife and son, served on the destroyer USS Shubrick. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/67136466/guy-f-frazier https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Shubrick_(DD-639 |
Guy Franklin Frazier Jr. never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom. |
Guy was born August 30, 1920 in Rhea County, Tennessee. His parents Guy Franklin Frazier Sr. and Anna Bell (Tillett) Frazier were both born in Tennessee. His father worked as a farmer. Guy had one younger sister. His parents divorced some time before 1940, when Guy was living with his mother and sister in Covington, Kentucky. He graduated from Holmes High School in Covington.
Guy enlisted in the US Navy Reserve on 16 February 1942 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He joined the crew of fleet replenishment oiler USS Sapelo on 28 October 1942 as a seaman 2nd class, then became part of the initial crew of the destroyer USS Shubrick (DD-639) as a radioman 3rd class when it was commissioned on 7 February 1943. RM3c Frazier married the former Beatrice Clara Cruse on 21 February 1943 in Portsmouth, Virginia and they had a son, Guy Franklin Frazier III.
After commissioning and shakedown, Shubrick sailed for North Africa with a large convoy on 8 June 1943 and took part in Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily. While in port at Palermo, Italy on 4 August 1943 Shubrick was hit by a 500-pound bomb during an air raid and had to return to the States for repairs. After completion of repairs, Shubrick made two convoy runs to Europe and back before participating in the D-Day shore bombardment, then remained off the Normandy coast for the next month performing escort duties, fire support missions, and anti-submarine patrols. In mid-July 1944, she joined a task group bound for the Mediterranean and then later returned to the US for overhaul.
On 1 February 1945, Shubrick transited the Panama Canal to join the US Pacific Fleet. She departed from Pearl Harbor on 21 April 1945 escorting the battleship USS Mississippi to Okinawa, where she supported the landings at Tori Shima on 12 May 1945 and patrolled off the coast of Okinawa.
On 29 May 1945, Shubrick was attacked by two kamikaze aircraft, one of which crashed into the ship, blowing a 30-foot hole in the starboard side, and causing secondary explosions. RM3c Frazier was one of 35 crewmen killed and another 25 were wounded in the attack.
Guy Franklin Frazier Jr. was initially buried on Okinawa and in 1949 was reinterred in Valley Grove Baptist Church Cemetery in Knoxville, Tennessee. His widow remarried after the war and passed away in 1998.
Thank you RM3C Frazier for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Guy.
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This profile was written by Bob Fuerst. "I’m a NASA engineer, B-17 Flying Fortress enthusiast, and amateur genealogist so this kind of research is an ideal outlet for me. But more than anything, it’s a way to express my sincere appreciation for The Greatest Generation and the sacrifices that they made, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice. They should never be forgotten and I’m grateful to Don for allowing me to play a small part in honoring them."
Last year on this date I profiled B-17 pilot James Feeney. You can read about James here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
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WW2 Fallen 100 is supported by
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“Where Every Day is Memorial Day”
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