I sat down with Frank for a little over two hours, and what you’re about to hear is the whole thing. No script, no agenda, just two friends at the kitchen table with turkey sandwiches and the microphones on. He walks me through growing up in Gainesville, Georgia, the poultry capital of the world, and being the shortest kid in every class he ever sat in. He talks about his dad flying bombers in World War II, and the grandfather who made sure all three DeLong sons learned to fly as teenagers. He talks about Baylor, military school, and the moment at fourteen when he decided he was going to be himself and that would have to be enough.
Listen To Frank’s Legacy Call:
We go into Vietnam. I told him up front that if anything was too heavy to share, he could skip it, and he was generous with me. He walks through how he got there, who he served with, and the morning he got his Purple Heart. He tells it plain. No extras. And then we come back home with him. Flight school, the 82nd Airborne, a divorce, and the night he stopped by a hotel bar in St. Pete just to ask about live music, looked down to the other end of the bar, and saw a woman with dark eyes and glasses reading a book. That was Lise.
Toward the end I ask him the question I ask everybody I’ve interviewed for the last ten years. The most important lesson he’s learned in his life so far. He doesn’t hesitate. You’ll hear what he says. I’ve been wanting to have this conversation with Frank for about five or six years, and I’m so glad it finally happened on time. Press play and meet him.
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