The Truehearts, PCF Frankie Walker Official Video

The critically acclaimed Truehearts may be from Nashville, but they call DC and Baltimore home. “PFC Frankie Walker” is the first single off their new album, “Songs For Spike” released back in June. The band recently played two homecoming shows in Baltimore and DC in August.

The song “PFC Frankie Walker” is about The Truehearts’ co-leader Steve McWilliam’s mother, Marion and her first love, Francis Walker, a GI, about to be shipped out to fight the war in Europe. We wrote the song based on a letter from Marion to Steve, written on June 6th of 2000, telling the story of her brief but significant relationship with Frank, and the locket that held both of their pictures that Marion had kept for all those years.

Francis R. Walker and Marion Krottendorfer met in Marion’s hometown, New York City, on line, in front of the Paramount Theatre. Frank, stationed at Camp Kilmer in New Jersey, was 18 and Marion was 15. The two dated for a few weeks and then Frank was given notice that he was being shipped out. He was part of the Normandy invasion, landing on June 7th in the second wave on Omaha Beach. He remained on the front lines for 2 weeks but was wounded while on orders to take out a German 88mm. gun. Frank was sent to the hospital in England where he remained for 2 weeks. After recovering from his injuries he returned to his old company, still in France, where he was killed on August 7, 1944. There are no details of his death recorded.