Frank Forrester Church, III

Record status: unconfirmed. Class-roster match confidence is medium. Correct the infobox if you have a source, and note it on talk.

Frank Forrester Church, III
Personal details
Birth name	Frank Forrester Church III
Born	25 July 1924 Boise, Idaho, U.S.
Died	7 April 1984 Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.
Nativity	United States
Religion	Catholic
Known for	United States Senator (Idaho)
Awards	Bronze Star Medal
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	01326316
Rank	Second Lieutenant
Rank at Ritchie	Private First Class
Camp Ritchie	Class 15 (4 January – 3 March 1944)
Section	6A
Battles / wars	World War II China Burma India Theater

Awards and honors

Bronze Star Medal

Research notes on this page are compiled from the source file and later edits. They may be unverified, incomplete, or incorrect, and should not be treated as established fact. Please correct the article or add sources on the talk page. For class-roster terms, see About the data.

Sources & confidence: Treat Research notes as leads, not settled fact. Prefer NARA, the class roster, newspapers, Find a Grave, or published histories for contested claims. Mark unsourced claims with {{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.

Frank Forrester III Church (1924–1984) was a Ritchie Boy (from United States; Catholic) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 15.

Biography

Frank Church left Stanford University in 1943 to enlist in the US Army. He served as a military intelligence officer in Myanmar, China, and India. Frank Church was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate from the State of Idaho from 1956 to 1981. He served as Chair of the House Select Committee on Government Intelligence Activities. He played a key role in the anti-Vietnam War movement and in the reform of U.S. intelligence activities.

The timeline research also records 1947 Graduated from Stanford with BA (History), Phi Beta Kappa. 4/1943 ASTP, Lafayette College (Spanish). Papers donated to Boise State University. Served as Acting G-2 for General James B. 8/1944 Returned to Camp Ritchie.

Research notes

• Also Class 15 JapOB
• Idaho Senator
• Ob 489t
• Idaho Senator; opposed Vietnam War
• Church Committee (Intelligence)
• Portrait and summary from Notable Ritchie Boys slides (source).

Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	60
Class_ASN	19132478
Class_Name	CHURCH, Frank F.
match_method	pass2_unique_name
row_source	both

Timeline

• 7/25/1924 Born in Boise, ID. Religion: Catholic.
• 1/4/1944 Entered Camp Ritchie as Pfc. Languages: None.
• 3/3/1944 Graduated with Class 15 (Photointerpreter); Chief Clerk.
• 3/10/1944 Promoted to Cpl.
• 7/25/1944 Graduated as 2nd Lt. from OCS at Fort Benning (ASN 01326316).
• 12/10/1944 Graduated with Class 24 JapOB.
• Awarded Bronze Star.
• Enlisted as Pvt (ASN 19132478).

Sources

• Wikipedia: Frank Church
• Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
• Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
• NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
• 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2023-06-01 (1 post)
• Dan Gross, Timeline of Frank Forrester III Church for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
• Dan Gross, Timeline of Church, Frank Forrester III for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: FRANK F. CHURCH.doc)