August Henry Frankenstein was born on November 23, 1920, to Franklin and Minnie Frankenstein in Hitchcock, South Dakota. August went to elementary school in Hitchcock. When he finished elementary school, he moved to Custer, South Dakota, to go to high school; in Custer he lived with his aunt and uncle, Esther and Waldemar Larson. He graduated from Custer High School in 1939. After high school he started farming with his two uncles, Henry and William Buchholz.

On October 18, 1942, he was drafted into the army at Fort Snelling. In 1944 he left the United States as a radio operator for the army. One of his fellow comrades said “he never met a more good-natured, likeable fellow.” Two of the battles he was in were the Leyte Battle and the Okinawa Battle. August worked near the front lines as a radio operator for an observation party where he received wounds from a mortar landing near him; he was hit by shrapnel and taken to the hospital where he died without regaining consciousness. Army T-5 August Frankenstein was originally buried at a military cemetery on the island of Okinawa.August Frankenstein was remembered by his commanding officer for his “cheerful humor and his shy smile. He was a good soldier, devoted to his country, and his performance of duty has been outstanding. He was dearly loved by those who were closely associated with him.”

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Frankenstein, August H (1920)