U.S. Senator John Boozman recognized Frederick Beck in the “Salute to Veterans.”

Beck grew up on his family farm in Morrilton. When he was 19-years-old, Beck joined the army and trained at Camp Hood, know as Fort Hood today. Beck was deployed to Europe as an infantryman with the 65th Infantry Division on an automatic rifle team.

“We had a lot of troops that had been there a long time. They had to eat, so I cooked for them for a good a long time,” Beck said. “They had to be taken care of and fed.”

Beck spoke of a time when a sergeant, who was playing with a pistol, shot him in the groin. 

“He was messing around with a little pistol that he shouldn’t have had in the first place. We had orders that we weren’t supposed to pick up anything like that,” Beck said.

The following day a doctor told him how lucky he was to survive.

“He said 1/16 of an inch you would have been a goner. That’s one thing I’m grateful for, I’m living on 1/16 of an inch,” Beck said with a smile.

“I am grateful for Frederick Beck’s dedication and service to our nation. His memories of his military service are an important part of our history and I am pleased to be able to collect and preserve his stories,” Boozman said.