Posted on: Wednesday, March 2, 2005

OUR HONOLULU
Memoirs of a very old soldier

By Bob Krauss
Advertiser Columnist

At age 104, Honorary Maj. Gen. Frank Steer over on the Kailua side is the only survivor of World War II still on active duty. For a person who participated in three battles in World War I and four battles in WWII, the general's war stories are delightfully romantic. "I don't think I killed anybody," he said.

Those of you who are old enough may remember the general as Col. Steer, provost marshal of Hawai'i during the days of martial law in WWII, who established a reputation for fairness to and consideration for local people.

His wife may have had something to do with that. She was Tootsie Notley, premier hula dancer of the 1930s and 1940s. The story of how they met is typical Frank Steer. He said he was invited to a going-away party for one of the officers at the club in Fort DeRussy. "Where are the hula girls?" Steer said on arrival.

"I told my driver, 'Go out and pick up some hula girls.' He was gone about an hour. Tootsie was one of the dancers he brought to the party," Steer said. "The next day she came back and said,

'I left my gas mask in the car.' I told her, 'My driver will find it. If he can't, I'll give you another one. Meanwhile, let's go to lunch.' " She was 25 and he was 39. Their marriage lasted until her death in 1998.

Then there was this French mademoiselle in WWI. The armistice had been signed and Steer's outfit was stationed near the border of Belgium and Germany. The U.S. soldiers lived with local families, two men to a house. He said he went with several buddies to a bar in the village.

He commented favorably to his friends about the barmaid and she answered back in English. This resulted in a six-month romance that ended when Steer was sent back to the United States. They corresponded for years until she got married.

So, you see, Frank Steer is more than a warrior. He was born in Oklahoma Indian Territory in 1901. His father taught him to shoot a rifle at age 8. But in 1918 his father refused to give the underage son permission to join the Army. Steer enlisted under a different first name, Frank instead of Franklin.

As a buck private, he was assigned in France to what would later be known at a post exchange unit. His squad followed the Army to the front in a 5-ton, chain-drive truck that carried toothpaste, soap, razorblades, etc. Steer dispensed toothpaste during three battles as shells dropped around him.

One day they ran out of supplies. He ordered the truck driver to drive 100 miles through shot and shell to a supply depot under cover of darkness. The warehouse was locked. He broke the lock and stocked the truck. They were back at the front the next day dispensing soda water to the troops.

The general explained that "active duty" means being assigned to a unit of the military. Steer is assigned to the West Point Assembly, published by the academy. Every two months he writes a column for the magazine. He entered West Point in 1921 and is its oldest living graduate.

Reach Bob Krauss at 525-8073.