August 29, 1940
Father of four
Career Marine
Detroit born and raised
Meet Frank Walkiewicz
Walkiewicz spent his childhood in Detroit, close to the old Tiger Stadium. He was born in 1940 and joined the Marine Corps in 1958. He admired his neighbor who was a Marine and intended to enlist, however when he turned 18 his dad advised him to join the Navy because he thought it was the “cleanest life to go into.” After going to the Navy office and passing the test, a Marine recruiter stood at the door across the hall from the Navy office and asked Walkiewicz why he didn’t want to join the Marines. He told him he wanted that cleaner life his father talked about. The recruiter said to him, “Aren’t you man enough to go into the Marine Corps?” That was that. He joined that day in 1958.
It wasn’t easy for him to tell his story. At the beginning of our conversation he looked at the camera, spoke for a somewhat rehearsed eight minutes or so and then said, “That’s it.” But that wasn’t it. He shared many stories of which everyone can take something away. Walkiewicz shared some stories, but admits there are still memories he needs to keep to himself, stories that are just his. Serving two tours in 1966-1967 and 1969-1970 where he’d spend up to “three of four months in the bush-something like that,” he has many interesting and important things to share with the world.
These days...
The war changed Walkiewicz. After witnessing South Vietnamese civilians, including children, foraging in the Marine garbage dump for food, people dying and booby traps maiming soldiers, he came back angry, but he remained a Marine until 1985, retiring as a First Sergeant. It took awhile, but he climbed out of his darkness and decided to give back.
He and his wife Patricia have dated since they were 11 and 10-years-old, respectively. They raised four children, have ten grandchildren and reside in Washington Twp., Michigan. Walkiewicz is dealing with becoming physically disabled, but his mind is sharp and his wit is quick. Even with his trials in life, he still tells a damn good story and can make you laugh until you’re crying. With his work in the funeral ministry, he’s even written his own homily, so when it’s his time and God calls him, he will leave everyone with a smile instead of tears.