I’ll never forget the day I stood paralyzed on the shore as I watched my sons swim to the middle of the large lake. I tried with every fiber of my being to jump in the water and swim with them and enjoy the perfect Saturday afternoon.

But an invisible force took control of my body. I couldn’t move.

Let’s start with the beginning…as I know it.

His name was Frank Walter Tarczynski. But his name could’ve been Francis. Or it might have been a Polish version of Frank such as Franciszek.

He was born sometime in 1911 in Chicago, Illinois. When he was 20 he married a woman named Victoria. Not much is known or remembered about her either.