{"id":3699,"date":"2023-06-29T03:20:29","date_gmt":"2023-06-29T07:20:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/?p=3699"},"modified":"2025-08-07T10:01:46","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T14:01:46","slug":"the-story-of-franklin-sharpless-philadelphias-daring-and-talented-hero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/en\/eternal\/the-story-of-franklin-sharpless-philadelphias-daring-and-talented-hero","title":{"rendered":"The Story of Franklin Sharpless: Philadelphia&#8217;s Daring and Talented Hero"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Military history is filled with the stories of countless service members, and it&#8217;s fair to call every one of them a hero. These individuals possessed a unique character that drove them forward, no matter the dangers or hardships they faced. <a href=\"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/en\">Philadelphiayes.com<\/a> has more on the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Franklin Sharpless certainly fits this description. His <strong>daring spirit was matched by a remarkable wisdom<\/strong> and a meticulous attention to detail. Despite entering the war at a young age, he quickly proved his exceptional abilities. His superiors were proud of him, openly acknowledging his natural talent. As a result, they confidently entrusted him with critical and high-stakes missions, certain he would succeed. <strong>He never disappointed<\/strong>, executing every task with precision and excellence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read on to learn about the journey of Franklin Sharpless, a daring and talented hero from Philadelphia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_76 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a0aff405d4c9\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a0aff405d4c9\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/en\/eternal\/the-story-of-franklin-sharpless-philadelphias-daring-and-talented-hero\/#Childhood_and_Family\" >Childhood and Family<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/en\/eternal\/the-story-of-franklin-sharpless-philadelphias-daring-and-talented-hero\/#School_Years\" >School Years<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/en\/eternal\/the-story-of-franklin-sharpless-philadelphias-daring-and-talented-hero\/#Athletic_Pursuits\" >Athletic Pursuits<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/en\/eternal\/the-story-of-franklin-sharpless-philadelphias-daring-and-talented-hero\/#An_Unexpected_Passion\" >An Unexpected Passion<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/en\/eternal\/the-story-of-franklin-sharpless-philadelphias-daring-and-talented-hero\/#A_New_Chapter\" >A New Chapter<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/en\/eternal\/the-story-of-franklin-sharpless-philadelphias-daring-and-talented-hero\/#Military_Training_and_Rank\" >Military Training and Rank<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/en\/eternal\/the-story-of-franklin-sharpless-philadelphias-daring-and-talented-hero\/#A_Sudden_Death\" >A Sudden Death<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Childhood_and_Family\"><\/span>Childhood and Family<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Franklin Sharpless was born in Philadelphia on April 29, 1917. His parents were farmers, carrying on a family business started by his grandfather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Interestingly, one of his ancestors was John Sharpless. He arrived in America in 1682 with William Penn and <strong>played a role in the founding of Philadelphia<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"School_Years\"><\/span>School Years<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Franklin attended a school founded by William Penn in 1689. The curriculum was centered around religious studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He graduated in 1935.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Athletic_Pursuits\"><\/span>Athletic Pursuits<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Franklin was a well-rounded student with a passion for various sports. He was particularly enthusiastic about football, track and field, and fencing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As captain of the fencing team, he even <strong>won the Philadelphia novice tournament<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"An_Unexpected_Passion\"><\/span>An Unexpected Passion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>After high school, he went on to attend Williams College, graduating in 1939.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s worth noting that Williams College is a highly prestigious institution, consistently ranked among the best in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While in college, he became deeply involved in the Scouting movement. At seventeen, he was an active member of the Rover Scouts. He later completed an advanced scoutmaster training course and was awarded the <strong>Gilwell Wood Badge<\/strong>. This is the highest honor for scout leaders, and Sharpless was <strong>the first American to earn it<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_New_Chapter\"><\/span>A New Chapter<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>After graduating from Williams, Franklin enrolled at the Wharton School of Business. However, he soon put his studies on hold to enlist in the army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He joined the Army Air Corps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Military_Training_and_Rank\"><\/span>Military Training and Rank<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>He completed his basic and advanced flight training in Alabama, finishing on April 25, 1941. Upon completion, he was commissioned as a <strong>Second Lieutenant<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sharpless was assigned to the 3rd Observation Squadron in Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His superiors quickly recognized his abilities. He was a <strong>truly gifted pilot<\/strong> and a fast learner, which allowed him to excel in his military duties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"626\" height=\"417\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.philadelphiayes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/51\/2023\/06\/image-18.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2326\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.philadelphiayes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/51\/2023\/06\/image-18.png 626w, https:\/\/cdn.philadelphiayes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/51\/2023\/06\/image-18-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 626px) 100vw, 626px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a result, he was later sent to North Carolina to help organize the 8th Observation Squadron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In June 1942, he was promoted to the rank of <strong>First Lieutenant<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Sudden_Death\"><\/span>A Sudden Death<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Tragically, Franklin&#8217;s life and military career were cut short. He was killed on July 1, 1942, while ferrying a military aircraft from Georgia to Florida.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Military history is filled with the stories of countless service members, and it&#8217;s fair to call every one of them a hero. These individuals possessed a unique character that drove them forward, no matter the dangers or hardships they faced. Philadelphiayes.com has more on the story. Franklin Sharpless certainly fits this description. His daring spirit [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":408,"featured_media":3701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[498],"tags":[1329,1324,1335,1322,1323,1331,1334,1327,1330,1326,1325,1321,1332,1328,1333],"motype":[491],"moformat":[89],"moimportance":[101,104],"class_list":{"0":"post-3699","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-voenna-istoria","8":"tag-3rd-observation-squadron","9":"tag-army-air-corps","10":"tag-daring-pilot","11":"tag-first-american-wood-badge","12":"tag-franklin-sharpless","13":"tag-gilwell-wood-badge","14":"tag-philadelphia-hero","15":"tag-philadelphia-local-history","16":"tag-rover-scouts","17":"tag-us-military-history","18":"tag-wharton-school","19":"tag-william-penn-school","20":"tag-williams-college-alumnus","21":"tag-wwii-aviator","22":"tag-wwii-hero-stories","23":"motype-eternal","24":"moformat-vlasna","25":"moimportance-golovna-novyna","26":"moimportance-retranslyacziya-v-agregatory"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/408"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3699"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3702,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3699\/revisions\/3702"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3699"},{"taxonomy":"motype","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/motype?post=3699"},{"taxonomy":"moformat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moformat?post=3699"},{"taxonomy":"moimportance","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philadelphiayes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moimportance?post=3699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}