Hometown: Oldsmar, FL
Branch: U.S. Army 
Unit: 2nd Battalion, 38th Cavalry Regiment, 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas
Military Honors: Bronze Star, Purple Heart
Date of Sacrifice: July 16, 2011 - KIA in Khost Province, Afghanistan
Age: 25
Conflict: Iraq War, 2003-2011

Frank Gross was born in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on August 19, 1985. His father, Craig Gross, worked in the food services industry, and his mother, Antonia (Hankey) Gross, ran her own business as a professional assistant.

Frank was born into a legacy of military service. Both of his grandfathers were career military: MAJ Robert L. Gross was a flight instructor for the Army Air Forces during World War II (1939-1945), and LT Frank R. Hankey served in the Navy during World War II and the Korean War (1950-1953).

When Frank and his older sister Natalie were in their early teens, a job transfer for his father moved the family to Oldsmar, Florida, a small city on the north shore of Old Tampa Bay.

Frank graduated with the class of 2003 from Indian Rocks Christian School, in nearby Largo, Florida. His father told a reporter from The Tampa Tribune that Frank was an avid surfer, guitarist, and photographer.

Gross also played baseball in high school, once hitting a home run at a Baseball Hall of Fame Game. He showed enough talent as a pitcher to earn a scholarship to Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois. After a year, he transferred closer to home, playing baseball for Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida.

Another college transfer took him to Full Sail University near Orlando, Florida, to study digital art. There, he earned his bachelor’s degree in 2008, adding a master’s degree in entertainment business a year later.

According to his family, it was always Frank’s dream to serve his country, as his grandfathers had. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in May 2010. With a master’s degree, he could have gone through officers’ training school. But he told his family he preferred to rise through the ranks and experience boot camp, thinking it might earn him more respect from the other enlisted soldiers.

Gross completed basic training at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, where he earned an Expert Weapons Qualification Badge, the highest of three grades (Marksman, Sharpshooter, Expert).

He went on to his Advanced Individual Training (AIT) at Fort Gordon in Augusta, Georgia, where he set himself apart by earning the Distinguished Honor Graduate Award. He then returned to Fort Benning to complete Airborne School.

Cpl. Gross was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 38th Cavalry Regiment, 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade out of Fort Hood, Texas. Trained as a radio operator, on June 28, 2011, he and his unit were deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

On July 16, 2011, while traveling in Khost province—along Afghanistan’s shared border with Pakistan—Cpl. Gross’s Humvee struck an improvised explosive device (IED). The explosion caused his vehicle to overturn.

He was rushed to Kasay Kalay, Afghanistan, where he succumbed to his wounds. Less than three weeks into his first year-long deployment, Cpl. Gross was lost at age 25.

On August 19, 2011, Cpl. Frank R. Gross was laid to rest with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. (Section 60, Site 8311). He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals.

Sources
Story details submitted by Mr. Craig Gross, CPL Gross’s Gold Star Father.
The Tampa Tribune, July 18, 2011: Decorated Oldsmar soldier killed in Afghanistan
Tampa Bay Times, July 31, 2011: ‘He Gave His All’
Carry the Load: Frank R. Gross
Military Times—Honor the Fallen: Army Cpl. Frank R. Gross
WFLA News Channel 8, Tampa Bay, FL: Gold Star father, former Army Major General remember the fallen at MacDill Park
Tampa Bay Times, July 22, 2011 (via Legacy.com): Cpl Frank Gross
Burial Site: Find a Grave