Memorial

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Frank Navas, also called Francisco or Francis, was born in Madrid, Spain, and sailed with his family on the S.S. Chicago from Le Havre to New York on 25 September 1923.

He was a draftsman.

He volunteered for the Air Corps of the Army of the United States as an aviation cadet in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 21 January 1942.

At the time of his enlistment into the Army, 2nd Lt Frank Navas still held his Spanish citizenship.

This was the first mission for the 506th Bomber Squadron as well as for this crew.

Mission debriefing reports show that the aircraft was singled out for attack by FW 190s.

Eyewitness accounts stated:
"During the first attack from enemy aircraft, ship #191 was hit in the # 4 engine, which caught fire and the ship began to lose altitude and leave the formation. Shortly afterward, the #3 engine also caught fire and the ship headed for the Island of Baltrum, in the East Frisian group, off the coast of Germany in the North Sea." Eyewitnesses from the other crews in the formation reported seeing five chutes open from this aircraft prior to losing sight of this ship. This aircraft was last seen at approximately 10 miles northwest of Baltrum Island.

It is reasonable to conclude that the plane crashed in the water and that the men who parachuted from the airplane, as well as those who went down with it, were unable to reach land and that none of the crew survived beyond the date of their disappearance, 22 March 1943."

His brother Lt Fred Navas served with the U.S. Navy in the South Pacific and was reported missing in action on 12 October 1944 when his airplane failed to return from a mission to Formosa. He is remembered at the American Military Cemetery of Manila in the Philippines.