Their Story
Remembering Andrew Frakes.
Sergeant First Class Andrew Mark Frakes was born on September 21, 1992, in St. Louis, Missouri, to Mark and Carolyn Frakes, and grew up in Forest City, Iowa. He was a natural athlete and a gifted artist and musician, an Eagle Scout, and a lifelong lover of the outdoors, from snowmobiling at the family cabin in Wisconsin to fishing trips in Canada with his father.
Following his father into the Army, Andrew graduated from the United States Military Academy in 2015 and served as an Infantry officer with the 10th Mountain Division before joining 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. In 2020 he resigned his commission and enlisted as an Infantryman so he could keep serving in the Ranger Regiment as a Team Leader and Squad Leader, and in 2023 he joined the United States Army Special Operations Command in North Carolina.
He deployed multiple times to the Middle East and Africa. His decorations include the Joint Service Commendation Medal with combat "C" device, the Army Commendation Medal, the Ranger Tab, the Master Combat Infantryman Badge, the Expert Infantry Badge, and the Military Freefall Jumpmaster Badge.
Andrew was a quiet, righteous leader who lifted others up without wanting credit for it. Andrew died on September 22, 2026, in a training accident in Nevada. He met his wife, Ashley, in Savannah, and together they made a home in North Carolina with their two golden retrievers, their daughter, Adeline, known as Addie, and a baby boy expected next Spring. Being a husband and a father was the role he cherished most.
