A Lost Hero Found

by Caroline Rainbolt-Forbes

Franklin B. Tostevin

March 22, 1922-March 20, 1945, Buried, December 13, 2013

Franklin B. Tostevin was born on March 22, 1922, in Westfield, Union County, New Jersey.[1] He was born to Edwin Quayle Tostevin and Elizabeth Martha Tostevin and was the middle child, between older brother Edwin and younger brother Donald.[2] He spent his whole life in New Jersey, attending and graduating from Westfield High School in 1940.[3] After graduating from high school, Franklin attended Union Junior College in Roselle and worked at Merck & Co. in Rahway before enlisting in the Army.[4]

By the time Franklin left to join the military, it was only Franklin and his younger brother Donald still in New Jersey. In 1940, the year Franklin graduated high school, his older brother Edwin Jr. died in a car crash, leaving behind his two younger brothers and their mother.[5] Then in 1941, his mother had a stroke, leaving behind Franklin and Donald.[6]

On May 23, 1942, Franklin went to Newark, New Jersey, and joined the U.S. Army Air Force, just a little under six months after the United States entered World War Two.[7] His main mission in the war was to take photographs as well as doing other types of reconnaissance in Europe, but more specifically in Germany. He flew 158 successful missions, even photographing German defenses in Normandy, France before D-Day.[8] Then on March 20, 1945, Franklin was called to do some low-level reconnaissance over Eigen, Germany.[9] That evening during the mission, Captain Tostevin’s F-6P aircraft was shot down and it was determined that he died in the crash.[10] However, it would be another 68 years before his family would be able to lay Captain Tostevin to rest.

Franklin’s journey back to the United States began in 2011. The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command team found the crash site of Franklin’s aircraft and was able to excavate part of it and bring it back to the United States from Germany.[11] His remains were found the year after Congress set a new goal of identifying 200 World War Two veterans annually, instead of the usual sixty. Congress has contributed an additional $63.1 million in the last eight years in hopes to find the remains of even more veterans.[12] While his remains were recovered in 2011, they were still labeled unidentified until 2013.[13] Even with the remains recovered it still can take decades to get a DNA match because without a match from a relative, the remains can be impossible to identify. In October 2013, Captain Tostevin’s DNA was matched to his younger brother Donald’s son Daniel, Franklin’s nephew.[14] Sadly, Donald passed away in 2005, while his brother was still unaccounted for. After making the identification, Daniel, who lives in Colorado, had his Uncle Franklin buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery on December 13, 2013.[15] Finally, Franklin could rest in peace back on American soil.

Captain Tostevin was awarded the Purple Heart, the Air Medal, and the Distinguished Flying Cross.[16] The Purple Heart is awarded to the members of the armed forces who are wounded or killed in action. The Air Medal is for those servicemen and women who demonstrate acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.[17] The Distinguished Flying Cross is awarded to a person who displayed heroism in aviation while engaged against the enemy.[18] Franklin Tostevin is finally back home and he finally received the honors he deserved.

Footnotes ↓

[1] "Capt Franklin B Tostevin (1922-1945).” Findagrave.com. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/120543943/franklin-b-tostevin

[2] "1940 United States Federal Census." Ancestry.com. https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=2442&h=135084605&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=hZL68&_phstart=successSource.

[3] "Shadow Box." TogetherWeServed.com. https://army.togetherweserved.com/army/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=351278

[4]Kurtis, Lee. “Burial of WWII Vet Franklin Tostevin Brings Family Solace." The Denver Post. April 29, 2016. https://www.denverpost.com/2013/12/29/burial-of-wwii-vet-franklin-tostevin-brings-family-solace/.

[5]"1940 United States Federal Census." Ancestry.com. https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=2442&h=135084605&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=hZL68&_phstart=successSource.

[6] Kurtis, Lee. "Burial of WWII Vet Franklin Tostevin Brings Family Solace.” The Denver Post. April 29, 2016. https://www.denverpost.com/2013/12/29/burial-of-wwii-vet-franklin-tostevin-brings-family-solace/.

[7]"U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946." Ancestry.com. https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=8939&h=1880752&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=hZL71&_phstart=successSource.

[8] "Army, Air Force Honor WWII Pilot at Burial." Oklahoman.com. December 14, 2013. https://oklahoman.com/article/feed/627617/army-air-force-honor-wwii-pilot-at-burial.

[9] Kurtis, Lee. "Burial of WWII Vet Franklin Tostevin Brings Family Solace.” The Denver Post. April 29, 2016. https://www.denverpost.com/2013/12/29/burial-of-wwii-vet-franklin-tostevin-brings-family-solace/.

[10] "Capt Franklin B Tostevin (1922-1945).” Findagrave.com. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/120543943/franklin-b-tostevin.

[11]Kurtis, Lee."Burial of WWII Vet Franklin Tostevin Brings Family Solace.” The Denver Post. April 29, 2016. https://www.denverpost.com/2013/12/29/burial-of-wwii-vet-franklin-tostevin-brings-family-solace/.

[12] McFetridge, Scott. “Long after They Died, Military Sees Surge in Identifications of the Fallen in Past Conflicts.” Military Times, October 10, 2018. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/10/10/long-after-they-died-military-sees-surge-in-identifications/.

[13] "Army, Air Force Honor WWII Pilot at Burial." Oklahoman.com. December 14, 2013. https://oklahoman.com/article/feed/627617/army-air-force-honor-wwii-pilot-at-burial.

[14] Kurtis, Lee. "Burial of WWII Vet Franklin Tostevin Brings Family Solace." The Denver Post. April 29, 2016. https://www.denverpost.com/2013/12/29/burial-of-wwii-vet-franklin-tostevin-brings-family-solace/.

[15]"Shadow Box." TogetherWeServed. https://army.togetherweserved.com/army/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=351278

[16]"Shadow Box." TogetherWeServed. https://army.togetherweserved.com/army/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=351278

[17] "Air Medal." Medals of America. https://www.medalsofamerica.com/air-medal.

[18] "Distinguished Flying Cross - Awards." Military Times Hall of Valor. https://valor.militarytimes.com/award/6?page=36.

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