Besson, Frank S. (Frank Schaeffer), 1910-

Son of a career Army officer, Frank S. Besson, Jr. was born in Detroit, Mich. in 1910. After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy in 1932, he was commissioned in the Army Corps of Engineers. During his military career he served as Chief of the Allied Military Rail Service in Iran during World War II; as overseer of the Japanese railway system after World War II; and as the first commander of the U.S. Army Materiel Command. Following military retirement in 1970, he became Director of Amtrak.

Frank S. Besson, Jr. (1910-1985), was born in Detroit, Michigan. From West Point, he was commissioned to serve the Corps of Engineers in 1932. He finished an M.S. degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1935, and then he worked with the Military Railroad Service in the Persian Gulf Theater of Operations. From 1943 to 1946 he was in the Western Pacific, during which time he rose to brigadier general. After the war, he served as chief of Transportation Corps from 1958 to 1962 as well as commanding general of Army Material Command from 1962 to 1969. He was decorated with three Distinguished Service Medals, two Legions of Merit, and the Commendation Ribbon. He retired in 1970.