Info Sheet - Francis X. "Frank" Delvy
Died 22 January 2009
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LTC Francis "Frank" X. Delvy died after his tour in Vietnam on 01/22/2009 at the age of 78.6 from Natural causes
Westerly, RI, Flight Class 60-9FW
Date of Birth 06/04/1930
Served in Vietnam with D/3/4 CAV in 66-67
Call signs in Vietnam CENTAUR 30, CENTAUR 3
This information was provided by Dale D. "Dinky" Dow
More detail on this person: WESTERLY, R.I. - Lt. Col. Francis X. Delvy Obituaries (02/04/2009)Lt. Col. Francis X. Delvy WESTERLY, R.I. - Lt. Col. Francis X. Delvy, 78, of Westerly, R.I., formerly of Southbury, died Thursday, January 22, at Westerly Hospital. He was the husband of Sheila (Kelliher) Delvy. Col. Delvy was born June 4, 1930, in Bridgeport, son of the late Henry and Marion (Cooney) Delvy. Raised and educated in the Middlebury area, he graduated from Sacred Heart High School, Class of 1948, and held a B.S. degree from Nebraska University and a master's of military science from the Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan. He taught Ballistics and Trajectories from Helicopters at the United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y. He joined the Regular Army in 1950 and fought in Korea with both the First Calvary Division and the 17th Infantry Regiment. In 1953, he left the Army and worked for Winchester Company in New Haven in their ballistic lab. He won the Connecticut State Big Bore Rifle Championship in 1940 and remained a renowned marksman until his death. In 1958, he joined the U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets) and served two tours of duty in Vietnam, having graduated from officers training, parachute, and both fixed and rotor flight schools. He was awarded more than 50 decorations, including two Distinguished Flying Crosses, a Silver Star, eight Bronze Stars, eight Purple Hearts, the Combat Infantryman Badge and numerous air medals. He retired from the Army in 1975 at Bethel, Alaska, and worked for several years as a bush pilot for Wien Air Alaska. He returned to Southbury in the late 1970s and worked as a flight instructor at Oxford Airport. He bought a home in Pierce's Colonial Acres and his children attended Southbury schools. During that time, he opened Northeast Air at the former Johnnycake Airport in Burlington. Around 1980, the family moved to Block Island, R.I., where Col. Delvy worked as a pilot for New England Airlines. He was an active shooter at the Bradford Skeet Club in Rhode Island until his death. Besides his wife of 50 years, he leaves his son, Christopher Delvy of Westerly; his daughter, Karoline Flower and her husband George, and their five sons, all of Enosburg Falls, Vt.; and his identical twin brother, Henry Delvy of Heritage Village in Southbury. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated January 26 at St. Pius X Church in Westerly. Burial with military honors was in Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Exeter, R.I.
Burial information: Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Exeter, RI