Red Tag Bastard Frank Urban
Frank R. Urban (1940-2021), Trafford High Class of 1958, can be seen in one of the recently posted snapshots that came from the collection of St Vid’s Croatian Lodge No. 541. Urban recalled his days in Trafford and his Croatian roots in a book published in 2012 called, “Those Red Tag Bastards: Their Dreams, Their Lives, Their Memories.”
Urban wrote in part, “Life was good in the 50s and I grew up enjoying the outdoors, learning to swim in the sulfur creek, ice-skating and playing hockey in the winter on the pond, lumbering with my dad in our oak forest and camping out. My dad was a senior mechanical technician for Westinghouse Electric in East Pittsburgh... - Unfortunately, he passed away when I was 13, the result of three packs of Camels a day, Iron City Lager beer, (Rolling Rock on special occasions), and a super high cholesterol diet. I missed him a lot, living only with my mother on limited income. She was very strict (thankfully) and kept me very busy in Boy Scouts (Troop 79), school activities, and a Junior Tamburitzan cultural group… - Principal Mr. Leo Semes, who was a retired Army bird colonel, called me at his office in January 1956 and said, ‘Frank you’re going to the Air Force Academy!’ I had no clue what he was talking about…this was a classic “Why me, Lord?” …The next thing I know, I get called into the guidance counselor’s office to meet with Mrs. Giglio to ‘discuss my options.’ This wonderful lady knew our financial situation and assured me that, yes, we’ll apply to the Air Force Academy, but also lots of other fine schools that offer scholarships. So, over the next two and one-half years I had many, many personal meetings with her, got advanced math tutoring, and competed for every scholarship she could find.”
Ultimately, Frank Urban was selected for entry into the United States Air Force Academy from a field of hundreds of other high school candidates in PA; the selection coming down to only 24 chosen after enduring three very competitive tests administered by Congressman Elmer Holland and the US Air Force. For those who are familiar with the Academy, it should be noted that Frank was one of the original “Red Tag Bastards.” For those unfamiliar, this odd name needs a bit of explaining. The Academy itself was first established in 1954 and graduated its first senior class in 1958. As each incoming class of cadets entered the Academy, they were assigned one of four rotating colors: blue, silver, yellow or red. Urban entered the Academy in 1958, his freshmen class receiving the color red via the normal rotation. However, the upperclassmen deviously attached the moniker “red tag bastards” to these new cadets, conceivably intending it to be an insult, the ‘red tag’ representing tags attached to dysfunctional parts on grounded military aircraft that read “remove before flight.” Urban and his classmates decided to proudly “own” this moniker and turn a negative nickname into a badge of honor. This class graduated several distinguished alumni, and for those in the Trafford community, an opportunity to proudly boast of yet another example of one of our past local descendants woven into the fabric of our national history.
