Retired Marine piloted President Clinton
By Jeff Gallatin
North Olmsted
Published July 19, 2006

Lt. Col. Frank Miner

From the time he knew he wanted to fly, retired Marine Lt. Col. Frank Miner knew being in the Corps could take him places.  He just never knew at a young age those places could include flying the president of the United States to various destinations, piloting a helicopter in Somalia, serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom and a wide assortment of Marine bases and training schools.

“It’s been a great ride,” Miner said. “I’ve gotten to do a lot of things many people never do.”

As the son of Henry and Carolyn Miner of North Olmsted, Miner got to know about the Corps at an early age, since his father is also a retired Marine officer.

“We’re very proud of him,” Henry said. “He’s accomplished a great deal both as a person and in the Corps. He got interested in flying on his own, since I was an engineering officer. But,he was interested in the Marines pretty early on.”

Miner, who went to the University of Mississippi on a Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship, said he’s always enjoyed watching and then being in aircrafts.

“It’s a wonderful feeling up there,” he said. “I went to school on the scholarship and got to learn a great deal while I was there. I knew I wanted to get into the Marines and fly with it.”

A native of Columbia, Tenn., Miner came to North Olmsted in 1979 when his father was transferred in a civilian job. Once here, he worked a variety of summer jobs the next four years before heading off to college in the fall inMississippi.

“North Olmsted’s a great place to be,” Miner said. “I had a lot of fun in the summers while I was working there.”

One job was at Sunset Memorial Gardens, where he did an assortment of work including yard work and filling in at other jobs when necessary.

His father chuckled remembering one of those fill-in jobs.

“He came home with this metal type joint and told me he had gotten it out of the crematorium area after they were cleaning it when he was filling in there,” Henry said. “It seems like it was a hip joint or something and it just hadn’t melted down when they cremated someone.”

In addition to his jobs, Miner recalled that he got his initial impressions of Hopkins International Airport.

“It’s a fine facility,” Miner said. “I’ve also enjoyed flying into it on several  occasions. I remember coming in on a training flight once with another officer. It’s been a good way to get to the Cleveland area sometimes.”

Once he graduated with a bachelor of science degree in business finance and banking from Ole Miss, Miner moved into the next phase of his life after being commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marines on May 14, 1983.

From there, he earned his gold wings as a Navy helicopter aviator and served in a variety of places, including the Marine Corps Air Station in New River, N.C., and Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, where he piloted the Sea Stallion Helicopter in several squadrons and served as a forward air controller with an infantry battalion. He also served as a flight instructor in Corpus Christi, Texas.

“They were all good experiences and went into helping me being able to do what I could as a pilot,” Miner said.

After returning to New River, Miner found he was headed overseas to Somalia, where he piloted a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter. Miner noted he was there about a month after the events chronicled in the award-winning movie “Black Hawk Down.”

“We basically flew support missions,” Miner said. “It was a tough situation over there.”

After returning, he went to the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, where he earned a master’s degree from the Marine Corps University. In June 1996, he was selected to Marine Helicopter Squadron One, meaning he piloted Marine Pilot One for the president in VH-3D Executive Transport andVH-60N Blackhawk helicopters.

Miner admits he was very aware of who he had aboard when he was transporting President Bill Clinton.

“It’s quite a feeling knowing you’ve got probably the most powerful man on the planet in your helicopter,” Miner said. “You want to make sure everything is just right and that it goes smoothly.”

Miner said he enjoyed and respected being entrusted with the president and other important dignitaries.

“You strive to try and get important assignments and responsibilities, and that was a major one,” Miner said.

Still, he said he was always glad when he knew the president was off the helicopter on his way to whatever business he had to attend to.

“There was always a certain sense of relief that we had gotten him where he was supposed to be,” Miner said.

After being promoted to lieutenant colonel in January 2000, he took a post as air operations officer for the Second Marine Expeditionary Force. Within two years, he took over as an officer for the Second Marine Expeditionary Brigade, later designated Task Force Tarawa, which led to his taking part in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Miner noted the assignment was different than previous ones.

“I was on the ground much more often and serving in a support or advisory role,” Miner said. “That was unusual after spending so many hours in the air. But it was important and you knew you were doing something that was needed and necessary.”

It also led to his coming under fire while on the ground with other troops in Iraq.

“It’s a pretty humbling experience seeing those tracers going around you,” Miner said. “You know it’s something that could happen, but it’s still something to see and feel.”

After coming home from Iraq, Miner again went to New River, where he served as operations officer and executive officer while piloting the UC-12 Super King Air. He decided recently it was time to take on a new challenge and retired from the Corps and accept a pilot’s position with Southwest Airlines in Houston.

“I loved being in the Corps, but working at Southwest is something that’s best for my family and I’m looking forward to it,” he said. When he’s not flying, he plans to spend more time with his wife, Penny, who is originally from Corpus Christi, and sons Hank and Albert.

While in the Corps, Miner was awarded the Bronze Star, two Meritorious Service Medals, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medal and the Combat Action Ribbon. Still, Frank will tell you it was never about medals or awards.

“I got to do something that I loved doing, flying in a great organization, the Marines,” Miner said. “I appreciate that I was able to do it and that I had a lot of great opportunities.”