T/5 Frank I. Bessinger

Biography and Wartime Service

Frank Irving Bessinger was born in 1923 in Irvington, New Jersey to Jennie I. McPeek and George Joseph Bessinger. He was fifth of six children having one brother and four sisters. Frank finished High School at the Irvington High School with the Class of 1942 before he joined the Army.

Frank I. Bessinger enlisted on February 5, 1943 an follow a Medical training program to make him a medic. The Morning Reports of Medical Detachment, Headquarters, Special Troops August 16, 1944 listed Pvt. Frank I. Bessinger as assigned and joined this unit from the 48th Replacement Battalion. He was promoted to Private First Class on November 20, 1944 and to Technician Fifth Grade on December 17, 1944. He was attached to Recon. Troop on January 10, 1945 and was reported missing in action (MIA) on January 12, 1945. Checking the after action reports for the division, he presumably was in the Petite-Langlire area, Ardennes, Belgium, because that is where they were in action. He was however never reported MIA in the official reports. Again, based on the fact that he was captured he presumably was assigned to the Recon troop in a frontline role.

His parents received a Western Union telegram later that week. They did not receive any information or confirmation that he was alive and a POW until the latter part of March. Frank Bessinger was first in the POW camp at Moosburg, north of Munich, and then transferred to Sandbostel. He had a schrapnel wound and jaundice, and was initially treated in Moosburg. Frank was repatriated in April 45 from Stalag 10B in Sandbostel, northeast of Bremen. Over 50000 Russians died there, along with lots of others.

Frank Bessinger survived the War but never spoke to his family about his POW experience and his Army time. Frank spent many years in therapy dealing with the effects of his experiences. He studied education and became a teacher for children with disabilities. He got married in 1953 and had three children. Frank Bessinger died on January 4, 1971 of a heart attack at the age of just 47. He is burried, together with his wife Ruth (1924-1992) at the Saint Catherine's Cemetery, Sea Girt, Monmouth County, New Jersey.

His son Drew Bessinger tried to find out how and when he was captured and, as mentioned before, based on the official Reports of January 12, 1945 he probably was captured within the Langlire area. I met his son Drew Bessinger During his trip to Europe in 2013. Drew spent a few days at my hometown of Putte. We visited some interesting sights in our area and he was lucky to be in Europe at the time of Kamp 1944. This event takes place every 4-5 years and originally instituted as a recreation we now organised a big open air exhibition which was pretty unique and very succesful. 'We' is the WW2 collector Friends, a local association of WW2 collectors and enthousiasts. I met Drew again when he visted the Ardennes to walk in the footsteps of his father in January 2025.

Thanks to Drew Bessinger for sharing the photos about his father

Gallery

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