Posted by David Sazama on October 27, 2024:

Francis, known as Saz, to his classmates, was born in Chicago, Illinois on November 7, 1939, the son of Dr. Francis J. Sazama and Alice Oles Sazama. He graduated from Riverside-Brookfield High School in 1958. The Sazama family included Frank's sister, Cynthia. Most of the entering Class of 1962 had fathers who had served in World War II and were heavily influenced by their service in the war. This was particularly true of Saz whose father had served as a Combat Physician with the famous Merrill Marauders of the Burma Campaign in World War II. Frank, like many of us, was also influenced by the TV series, "West Point," that ran in 1956-57. He also excelled as the starting center on the Riverside-Brookfield Bulldogs football team and when legendary Army Coach, Earl "Red" Blake came calling, Frank was all in for West Point. He was appointed to West Point by Congressman Roland V Libonati of the 7th District of Illinois and he joined the Class of 1962 on July 1, 1958. Beast Barracks provided more than a little stress for Frank, prompting numerous long distance phone calls with his father. Dr. Sazama offered his son a free airline ticket home if he wanted to leave the Academy. It must have inspired Saz, because he never asked for the free return ticket home! Beast Barracks ended on Labor Day and Saz was assigned to Cadet Company A-1. A-1 had many outstanding athletes and Saz lived up to his promise by making the Army Football Team. The 1958 Season was the final one at Army for Coach Red Blaik, and it was very successful. Coach Blaik introduced the Lonely End, Army finished third in the Nation, beat Navy, and Pete Dawkins won the Heisman Trophy. Even with the time spent at practice and studying, Saz found time to sing in the Catholic Chapel Choir, reflecting his strong religious faith. Saz was assigned a room with three other plebes, all who excelled after graduation, Marshall Carter, Larry Mengel and Denny Reimer. Someone described the room as a very small room with four very large cadets. There was a special magic in that room. One roommate remembers Saz playing Johnnie Mathis records until they wore out, or maybe his roommates were worn out from listening to them. In The Howitzer, one of his roomies wrote "he will always be remembered for his sympathetic and understanding nature, and is sure to make one of the finest officers in the Army." Unfortunately, injuries at West Point ended his football career. Before graduation Francis was shattered by the news of the death of his father in a tragic auto accident. His mother was devastated. He requested an initial Army assignment near his mother, and that was ultimately granted. The Class of 1962 was fortunate to be present for two historic speeches. One was the famous Duty-Honor-Country speech by General Douglas McArthur on May 12, 1962 when he was honored by the Association of Graduates with the Sylvanus Thayer Award. The second was on Graduation Day of June 6, 1962 when President John F. Kennedy reminded the class of '62 how much the Nation depended upon them. President Kennedy also alerted the Class to the difficult assignments they faced in far off places. Shortly after graduation, Francis and his childhood sweetheart, Susan Nerad. were married in Indiana in a formal military wedding complete with Dress Blues and sabers. Their beautiful marriage lasted 60 years. it was as described by the family, "a true love affair". The Sazama's were blessed with four children: Kristin and Su were the first born, and Francis and Susan adopted two wonderful young boys William and David. Soon after the wedding, Saz reported to the Army's Air Defense Orientation Course at Ft. Bliss as a member of the Artillery Branch. To comply with his request for a compassionate assignment near his mother, the Army posted him to an air defense unit in Munster, Indiana. It was there that Susan brought their daughter, Kristin, into the world. Air Defense proved tedious and his mother had stabilized, so Frank sought some more challenging assignments. First though, he went through some rigorous training at Fort Bragg's Special Warfare School and the Basic Airborne Course at Fort Benning. The Army then sent Frank to the Laotian language course in preparation for his tour with the 1st Special Forces Group on Okinawa. From there, he was dispatched a number of times to special classified assignments in Thailand. Nonetheless, the SazamaA-'s found time to give birth to their second daughter, Su! Suddenly, the Sazama's faced some very serious challenges. Frank was experiencing leg numbness that was the result of an aggravating injury during a parachute jump. At the rank of major, he was given an honorable medical retirement from the Army in 1969 with a 70% disability. That injury would torture him for the rest of his life. Susan and Frank moved back to the Chicago area where he started his civilian career as a management trainee with Inland Steel. This combined with an MBA Program at the University of Chicago left him with little time for anything but school and work. During this time, they were able to adopt two sons, Bill age 3 and David age 5. The boys were great additions to a wonderful family. The early years were challenging and but also very rewarding. Francis's leadership ability was recognized, and he moved from trainee to various management positions with numerous steel related companies. Some positions required restarting plants that had been closed, some required new technology and all were demanding. Francis and Susan decided to find a more stable life for their children and the opportunity to buy into a Chicago area business was the answer. They eventually owned the company, Chicago Bullet Proof Systems, a manufacturer of steel protecting windows, doors and components for security motivated consumers. As always, Francis was ahead of his time. Saz was a very hard worker with a wonderful sense of humor, was loyal to his family, enjoyed flying his plane, driving his boat, loved duck hunting and fishing for the "big one that always seemed to get away." He was a devout Catholic and a loving husband and father. He is survived by his wife Susan, daughters Kristin and Susan, sons David and William and his sister Cynthia. Their family now consists of seven grandchildren and a great grandson,and, despite his many accomplishments, his family could well be his greatest legacy. Francis J. Sazama, Jr. passed away peacefully after an extended battle with health issues on April 1, 2023. As reported by his good friend and classmate, Dick Chegar, Francis was buried with full military honors at the family gravesite during a beautiful, crisp, sunny Good Friday, April 7, in the year of our Lord, 2023. Well done, Saz, you were one of a kind, be thou at peace.

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