NYC, NY:
Bea Franklin is an example of living life to the fullest. Born into the Pep Boys family, (yes, that Pep Boys) Franklin has lived an inspirational life.
It was on her 18th Birthday in 1942, she attended a Rooftop concert at the Astor Hotel in NYC starring (very young and not yet famous) Frank Sinatra with the Tommy Dorsey Band. A perfect example of just one of many amazing concerts she has seen over the last century.
Bea Strauss Franklin’s Dad “Jack” of the Pep Boys (Moe was his brother) later came to NYC & formed another automotive chain of stores: Strauss Stores.
Like out of scripted from Hollywood, she married Corporal Jerry Franklin, he was a US Army photographer with the Signal Corps / 163rd Photo Company with the 5th Army. His cameras captured the invasions throughout Europe & North Africa. He took graphic photos at the Liberation of the Dachau concentration camp.
Capturing history moments in time, the World War Two photo albums from the lens of Corporal Franklin contain many historic photos, some have never been seen before and some are publicly available in school history books & even in institutions such as the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library in Hyde Park, NY & elsewhere.
One such ‘iconic’ photo is Franklin Roosevelt with Dwight Eisenhower in a Jeep with General Patton in the background at Castelvetrano Airport in Sicily, Italy, after the conferences at Tehran and Cairo, December 8, 1943. Photographer Franklin’s glimpses of the war include captivating photos of film stars Humphrey Bogart & his wife, Mickey Rooney, and Joe E. Lewis.
Also photographs of women in the army and ‘posed’ photos such as a nurse hangin out on a war zone beach with Jerry to give an impression of the so-called ‘softer’ side of a war in progress.
As a hostess to many home gatherings, the Long Island Franklin household friends included boxing great Rocky Graziano & famous NHL NY Rangers hockey players such as Bernie “boom boom” Geoffrion.
Franklin’s World Travels included over 30 countries and 30 states. International travel to Japan, The UK, Bali, France, Ukraine, Italy, (The then) USSR, and Hungry.
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