Marion Francis "Frank" Dutro (1917-1998)

I actually had the honor of meeting this man - he was very intersting and had stories to tell of the photos that he took from the sky during war time.

Here is the obit from the local town paper:

Frank Dutro

Marion Francis "Frank" Dutro died in his Saratoga residence Jan. 15 at the age of 80.

Born Feb. 21, 1917, in Colorado Springs, he graduated from Grass Valley High School, Sacramento City College and the Los Angeles Art Center. During World War II, he belonged to the 165th Signal Photographic Company and worked as a combat photographer with the U.S. Army. Although assigned to the 1st Army unit, Dutro's three-man team did not limit themselves to one division or regiment. Among the images he captured on film was the D-Day invasion at Utah Beach.

For six months, Dutro was a prisoner of war, held by the Germans. Dutro was able to slip past German troops and rejoined his unit for the remainder of the war.

Dutro began working for Lockheed Corp. after the war's conclusion, but then picked up his camera again as a Korean War combat photographer. After rejoining Lockheed, he was assigned to the Missiles and Space Division at White Sands testing range near Holoman Air Force Base in New Mexico. This gave him more photographic opportunities.

From 1960 to 1983, Dutro worked at Lockheed Missiles and Space in Sunnyvale in the motion picture department, where he did cinematography and writing. He also made a historical video of Saratoga, where he was a member of the Saratoga Historical Foundation, the Saratoga Heritage Preservation Commission, Friends of Villa Montalvo and Friends of Hakone Gardens.

He is survived by his wife, Mary Lynn Dutro of Saratoga; sons Frank Dutro Jr. of LaCrescenta and John Blake of Woodland Hills; and grandchildren Kelly Blake and Charles Dutro.

Memorial services have been held. Donations may be made to the Saratoga Historical Foundation, the Saratoga Federated Church, or to the Diabetes Society of Santa Clara County.

This article appeared in the Saratoga News, February 18, 1998