We Honor and Remember:
SSG Frank T. Carvill
Hometown: Carlstadt, NJ Age: 51 years old Died: June 4, 2004 in Operation Iraqi Freedom Unit: Army, 3rd Battalion, 112th Field Artillery, Army National Guard, Lawrenceville, NJ The city of Baghdad is very interesting. Without this little war, it would be fun to cruise around town. Maybe I'm still a naive liberal, but I don't feel paranoid here, at least during the day. The city itself is busy and very oriented towards business. There are stores everywhere. Thousands of tiny shops selling everything." -Frank Carvill, taken from LIFE's book Last Letters Home Killed in active service, Army Sergeant Frank Carvill survived both World Trade Center bombings and was a beloved surrogate father to his two young nephews, who lost their own father to cancer. His sister, Peggy Carvill Liguori, shares memories of her brother and the time he spent with their nephews. Burial: Brig. Gen. Wm. C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery Wrightstown Burlington County New Jersey, USA Plot: SECTION O1 SITE 740 |
Sister remembers brother killed in Iraq - Associated Press
When Frank T. Carvill told his sister he had been called up to go to Iraq, she was stunned.
“Gee, Frank, are you going to be part of the AARP battalion?” she teased, referring to the retirees lobbying group.
At 51, Carvill, an Army sergeant with the New Jersey National Guard, was among the oldest soldiers to die in Iraq. He was killed last June in an ambush outside Baghdad that also claimed the lives of four other Guard members from New Jersey and Oregon.
Carvill had escaped both terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, where he worked as a paralegal. In 1993, he helped a co-worker down 54 floors to safety. On Sept. 11, 2001, he left the north tower moments before one of the hijacked planes plowed into the building.
Carvill was a voracious reader who loved politics, an outdoorsman who enjoyed kayaking, a trusted friend who had the same buddies for 30 years.He was a devoted big brother to Peggy Liguori, who still remembers how as kids, he took her to see “Blue Hawaii” and “Born Free” at the movies. He was the longtime pal to Rick Rancitelli who admired Carvill’s “million-dollar vocabulary” and his writing and public speaking skills.
Carvill joined the Guard two decades ago out of a sense of patriotism and never regretted it, though he believed the war in Iraq was a political mistake, Rancitelli says. Rancitelli sent his friend copies of The New Yorker, military history books and Grateful Dead music. He also e-mailed him photos of a lake house he recently bought — a perfect spot to decompress when Carvill returned.
“Just get home, everything else will be gravy,” he wrote Carvill. But on the day he was supposed to head home on leave, he gave up his seat on the plane to another soldier who had a family emergency, according to his sister.
“My brother’s biggest downfall was never being able to say no,” Liguori says. “He was always willing to help.” He was killed, she says, that day he gave up his seat.
In May, Carvill sent friends an e-mail, saying he was trying to make the best of the situation but was looking forward to joining them for dinner back home.He also offered some reflections about the war that turned out to be prophetic.
“Our occupation is not intended to be forever,” he wrote. “I don’t know how we can get out in the short run. We as a nation are going to have absorb huge costs, both in money and in lives, for several more years. ... “
One month later, he was dead.
When Frank T. Carvill told his sister he had been called up to go to Iraq, she was stunned.
“Gee, Frank, are you going to be part of the AARP battalion?” she teased, referring to the retirees lobbying group.
At 51, Carvill, an Army sergeant with the New Jersey National Guard, was among the oldest soldiers to die in Iraq. He was killed last June in an ambush outside Baghdad that also claimed the lives of four other Guard members from New Jersey and Oregon.
Carvill had escaped both terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, where he worked as a paralegal. In 1993, he helped a co-worker down 54 floors to safety. On Sept. 11, 2001, he left the north tower moments before one of the hijacked planes plowed into the building.
Carvill was a voracious reader who loved politics, an outdoorsman who enjoyed kayaking, a trusted friend who had the same buddies for 30 years.He was a devoted big brother to Peggy Liguori, who still remembers how as kids, he took her to see “Blue Hawaii” and “Born Free” at the movies. He was the longtime pal to Rick Rancitelli who admired Carvill’s “million-dollar vocabulary” and his writing and public speaking skills.
Carvill joined the Guard two decades ago out of a sense of patriotism and never regretted it, though he believed the war in Iraq was a political mistake, Rancitelli says. Rancitelli sent his friend copies of The New Yorker, military history books and Grateful Dead music. He also e-mailed him photos of a lake house he recently bought — a perfect spot to decompress when Carvill returned.
“Just get home, everything else will be gravy,” he wrote Carvill. But on the day he was supposed to head home on leave, he gave up his seat on the plane to another soldier who had a family emergency, according to his sister.
“My brother’s biggest downfall was never being able to say no,” Liguori says. “He was always willing to help.” He was killed, she says, that day he gave up his seat.
In May, Carvill sent friends an e-mail, saying he was trying to make the best of the situation but was looking forward to joining them for dinner back home.He also offered some reflections about the war that turned out to be prophetic.
“Our occupation is not intended to be forever,” he wrote. “I don’t know how we can get out in the short run. We as a nation are going to have absorb huge costs, both in money and in lives, for several more years. ... “
One month later, he was dead.
New Jersey Run for the Fallen 2023 ~ Click on photos below to enlarge...
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New Jersey Run for the Fallen 2022 ~ Click on photos below to enlarge...
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