Frank Mendez - Merchant Mariner 1945-52

Frank Mendez was born in San Francisco, CA on Sept. 15, 1929. His parents died when he and his 4 sisters and 2 brother's were very young and they were raised in the foster care system. Frank quit high school the day he turned 16 and applied for his seamen's papers. He then went to the Marine Firemen's Union Hall and was dispatched as a wiper to his first ship and sailed intermittently until his last trip in Oct 1952. He sailed to Pusan Korean July-August 1950 and Inchon Korea Sept-Oct 1952 during the Korean War. Frank met his wife Lupe Veronica Layna in 1944, they dated off and were married in 1951 and had 2 children Frank Jr. and Carol Ann. After his service Frank went to work at Friden Calculating Company as a Journeyman Electro Plater and was eventually elected as Business Manager of the Northern California Metal Polishers and Platers Int. Union (Local 128). In 1965 he went to work for the State of CA Dept of Industrial Relations, Div. of Apprenticeship Standards in the Oakland CA field office as an Apprenticeship Consultant were he worked till his retirement in 1993.

In 1993 Frank joined the American Merchant Marine Veteran (AMMV) Golden Gate Chapter in San Francisco, CA. In 2002 he was elected as the Finance Sectary/Treasurer and still holds that position to this day.

In 2011 Frank was appointed a member of Board Of Directors of the Korean War Memorial Foundation. The Foundation was tasked to raise 3 million dollars to build a Memorial Honoring that Forgotten War at the Presidio in San Francisco. In 2016 that Memorial was completed at the Presidio overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge.