Robert Charles Frascotti “Bob” “Scotty” was born February 13, 1923 in Milford, Worcester, Massachusetts.

His father, Charles W. Frascotti, was born in Massachusetts, the son of Italian immigrants. Her was a sergeant in the 4th Pioneer Infantry during WWI. Bob’s mother, Iside Pagnini, was born in Italy and came to the US when she was a child. Bob had one younger brother.. Both of his parents were very active in the VFW. His father served as the VFW State Commander in the 1940s.

Bob graduated from Milford High School in 1940, where he was a star athlete and class president. He attended Dean Academy (now Dean College) before enlisting in the army on his 19th birthday.

He was accepted into the Army Air Force and received his commission and wings at Marianna, Florida, in March 1943. After advanced fighter training, he was assigned to the 486th Fighter Squadron, 352nd Fighter Group, 8th Air Force. He was sent to England in March 1944 and stationed at RAF Bodney Field, Norfolk, England.

On Jun 6, 1944 at 2:30 am Lt. Frascotti was prepared to take off from Bodley Field. The destination was Normandy and the mission was to weaken the German defenses before the surface invasion would begin a few hours later. Lt. Frascotti was piloting a P-51 “Mustang” (#43-6685). Right before takeoff the temporary runway lights went out. He took off on the wrong bearing and struck an unlit control tower that was under construction. His plane exploded and First Lieutenant Robert C. Frascotti was killed.

He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. In 1946 the VFW Post in Milford was renamed for him.

Lt. Frascotti was initially buried in England. After the war and at the request of his family, his remains were returned to the US. In 1948 he was reburied at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Milford, Worcester, Massachusetts.

References:

Obituary - Boston Globe, 10 Aug 1948, p 20

Bob Bruner’s Account - Vincennes Sun-Commercial (IN), 6 Jun 1996, p 1, 10

https://aviationtrails.wordpress.com/heroic-tales-of-world-war-2/robert-c-frascotti-usaaf-352nd-fg-486th-fs-raf-bodney-trail-8/

http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=1913

https://www.honorstates.org/index.php?id=482842

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/143603900/robert-c-frascotti

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.

Robert C Frascotti