Manuel Harold "Manny" Frockt
3132nd Signal Service Co : 2nd Platoon
ASN#15361225
Born 1924 in TN, Died 2022
County of residence at enlistment: Jefferson County, KY
Other residence(s): Louisville, KY; West Palm Beach, FL
United States Army, European Theatre of Operations
Occupation before the war: foremen, n.e.c.
College education before the war: 1 year
College education after the war: Univ. of Louisville Law School
Manny Frockt was born on June 17, 1924 in Chattanooga, TN. The family moved to Louisville, KY a few years later. He was the middle of three children; his father owned a pawn shop, and later an antique store.
Manny graduated from Louisville Male High School and registered for the draft on June 30, 1942, right after he turned 18. He enlisted a few months later, on December 7, 1942. His enlistment form states that he had one year of college.
He was a member of the sonic deception unit in the Ghost Army; in his book Ghost Army of World War II, Jack Kneece tells the story of Manny, who didn't smoke, selling his Red Cross and K-ration American cigarettes on the streets of Paris, and, after being observed by a general, ending up briefly in an Army jail for selling cigarettes in uniform. Luckily, officers from the 23rd were able to spring him quickly!
Frostbite in his feet got him an early discharge. After he returned home, Manny attended the University of Louisville Law School, where he met undergraduate student Esther Tandeta; they married in 1948 and settled in Louisville.
After graduation, Manny practiced law for 50 years. He was the lawyer for the GE union, for three police unions, and for several smaller unions. He also served as a probate judge and lectured at the law school. Manny says that he "had a wonderful practice" and that he "was a very good lawyer before a jury."
He didn’t talk about his Ghost Army experiences until news started to leak out 40-50 years after the war ended. “The brass said ‘Keep your mouth shut.’ So I did.”
As a young man, he had been active in the Masons. He was a former St. George Masonic Lodge, Scottish Rite, and Kosair Shrine member. Later in life, when in his 70s, he celebrated his bar mitzvah. After Manny retired and he and Esther moved to Pam Beach County, FL, he volunteered at the Reform Temples in Wellington and Lake Worth. In 1999 he was honored at the Kentucky Bar Association Annual Convention as "1999 Senior Counselor," in recognition of his 50 years of practice.
Manny and Esther had two children: Joel and Shelley, both of whom became attorneys. Esther died in 2007; they had been married for 59 years.
In January 2021, he was living in a senior facility in West Palm Beach "with a wonderful lady."
He died on December 4, 2022 in West Palm Beach and is buried at Adath Jeshurun Cemetery in Louisville, KY.
Sources:
1930 census
1940 census
1942 draft card
1942 enlistment record (has incorrect birth date but clearly the right person)
https://www.fold3.com/record/84312866/world-war-ii-army-enlistment-records-manny-h-frockt
1947 engagement announcement in Chattanooga Daily Times (TN)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/604897084/?terms=manny%20h%20frockt&match=1
1948 marriage announcement in Louisville KY Courier-Journal
https://www.newspapers.com/image/108414203/?terms=manny%20h%20frockt&match=1
1958 city directory, Louisville KY
1969 article in Louisville KY Courier-Journal; he is GE union attorney
https://www.newspapers.com/image/107083321/?terms=manny%20h%20frockt&match=1
1973 article in Park City Daily News, Bowling Green, KY; he is police union attorney
https://www.newspapers.com/image/661534666/?terms=manny%20h%20frockt&match=1
1999 article in Palm Beach Post (FL); he has been attorney for 50 years
https://www.newspapers.com/image/133912249/?terms=manny%20frockt%20attorney&match=1
2007 wife Esther's obituary
Ghost Army of World War II by Jack Kneece
2020 email from Manny Frockt (Rick Beyer has copy)
2021 Find a Grave record