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World War II hero Ed Frye dies at 85
He served with a unit that captured the Luftwaffe chief in Germany near the end of World War II.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Ed Frye, in 2008, poses with a photo of his infantry unit that help to capture Nazi leader Hermann Goering. Frye died February 24.Ed Frye, a World War II veteran from South Lebanon who helped capture Nazi leader Hermann Goering, died Tuesday, Feb. 24, from a stomach aneurism. He was 85.
Frye was born in Xenia in 1924 and grew up in South Lebanon. He was drafted into the Army infantry at the age of 18, serving in Europe throughout World War II under Lt. Jerome Shapiro.
As the war was nearing its end, Frye's uni was assigned to go behind enemy lines and capture Goering, one of Hitler's top insiders and leader of the German Air Force.
"I was just doing my job," Frye said. "I never though of myself as a hero."
Frye drove the jeep that arranged to meet Goering outside of his castle, where he would surrender.
When Goering did not arrive, Ed and his company traveled deeper into German territory to find the man, traveling mainly at night.
On May 7, 1945, Ed's unit finally found Goering.
Frye said Goering gave Shapiro a pristine Walther PPK pistol in a red leather box as a sign of surrender.
"He spoke perfect English," Frye said. "He said 'Please accept this as my surrender. I wish to meet General Eisenhower."
During the surrender ceremony, Frye manned the large guns mounted on he back of the jeeps to guard against ambush.
Frye kept silent about his role in the surrendor for nearly 60 years, until contacted by filmmaker/historian Mark Gould, who was researching Goering's capture and saw Frye's name on the back of a photo.
"He didn't think it was that big of a deal. It was a very emotional subject for him," Gould said.
After Gould tracked Frye down, Frye finally embraced his role in history, traveling to Germany and Austria to recount his adventures for a proposed book and feature film.
He was awarded a Medal of Valor from the Museum of Tolerance in California.
"Ed was a great guy," Frye said. "He didn't have a mean bone in his body. He was incredibly friendly to me from the first time I met him."
He is survived by two sons, Ronn and Alfred Jr.; and stepchildren Jill Henderson, Sandy Malicote, Kim Singleton, Danny Henderson, Becky Garlock, Susan White and Denise Mangus. He is preceded by wife Mary, son Michael and stepchildren Kevin Henderson and Naomi Brock.
