Whatever
Happened To...
KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
William Frank "Col. Frank" Steer holds his French Legion of Honor medal, top, and his Pearl Harbor Survivors medal.
Veteran of 2 world wars
is ready to celebrate
his 102nd birthdayQuestion: Whatever happened to Col. William Frank Steer, who served in World War I and World War II and became the provost marshal in Hawaii after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor?
Answer: Steer, who lives in Kailua, is looking forward to celebrating his 102nd birthday on Jan. 12 with two parties in his honor. He believes he holds the distinction of being the oldest World War I veteran and the oldest graduate of the Army's Military Academy at West Point.
Steer is a member of the class of 1925 at West Point, and for more than 20 years he has delivered the oldest-graduate address to the annual March gathering of West Point's alumni and cadets in Hawaii.
Steer continues to contribute articles to the academy's alumni magazine, "Assembly," and serves as the editor for his class.
Steer was 16 and attending Oklahoma A&M College, now called Oklahoma State University, in 1917 when he decided to volunteer for the Army. He was assigned to the 33rd Division and served in France. He was honored by the French government and given the country's Legion of Honor.
In 1918, he returned to the United States and attended West Point. The Army assigned him to Hawaii in 1930, and he was appointed commander of the Hawaii Department Military Police Company after the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack.
As provost marshal, Steer essentially was the chief of police in Hawaii and the Pacific, which were under marshal law. He oversaw curfew regulations, vital installations, prisoner-of-war camps and other security matters, said Dwylla-Dawn Steer, his oldest daughter.
Steer served in Hawaii for 18 months before transferring to Mitchell Field in Long Island, New York. In 1948 he was assigned to the Pentagon as provost marshal of the United States Air Force. After 32 years in uniform, Steer retired on June 30, 1950.
Steer moved around after his retirement, living in Hawaii, California, Oklahoma and elsewhere. He finally settled in 1968 in Hawaii, the home state of his wife, Doveline "Tootsie" Notley, a native Hawaiian he met during his service in Hawaii.
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