Oct 27, 2003 By Angie Santello 8 min read

A former Fayette County resident, Army Staff Sgt. Frank Edward King performed missionary work while operating a post office during a tour of duty earlier this year in Afghanistan. “The post office really became the hub of the area,” said King, who served with the 300th AG Company Postal Unit in the United States Army Reserves. “There were thousands of troops that received and sent out mail.”

King, 52, now lives in Merrillville, Ind., a city 45 minutes from Chicago, with his wife, Nancy, and four of his five children. King’s fifth child, a 22-year-old son, lives in the Uniontown area and is pursuing studies at California University of Pennsylvania.

King returned to Fayette County in August for a visit with family and friends. His sister Judy Dupont greeted her brother at her Oliver home with a cookout-style homecoming celebration. The cookout featured King’s favorite home-style treat: a cooker pot full of pigs in a blanket.

“I told my sister to make pigs in a blanket for me when I came back,” King said. “It was so good to eat some good home cooking.”

For eight months, King did not see any of his Uniontown-area family. Dupont said 10 years passed since King saw his younger brother, who he greeted at the celebration.

“We just laughed, had a good time and reminisced on the old days,” said Dupont. “It was nice because all five kids came together for the first time since our mom passed away in 1991.”

The family communicated with King while he stationed in Afghanistan through phone calls. Dupont said she also sent her brother goody boxes.

Dupont said she isn’t too concerned for her brother because the military is “where the Lord wanted him to be.”

“If the Lord had to be in it, he’s in it,” said Dupont. “God’s in control of his life. Frank just felt that’s where the Lord wanted him to go.”

According to Dupont, her brother succeeded in getting 19 soldiers to give their hearts to the Lord, but one of those 19 died in conflict.

“If you know Frank, you know he’s been led by the Lord to do that,” said Dupont. “The whole family grew up in church and we just kept that in our lives.”

King left the Uniontown area to attend Hyles Anderson College in Crown Point, Ind. He graduated from the school with a degree in missionary work. Recognizing his passion to preach, King plans to start his own church in Merrillville.

In Afghanistan, King preached at services for the soldiers.

“There was a chapel on the base,” said King. “I loved having the opportunity to preach. Sixty-six people accepted the Lord as their Savior. Someday they’ll go to heaven.”

King also relayed Bible stories to interested Afghan laborers employed by the airbase.

“I saw that they wanted to accept Christ, but I think they were afraid,” King said. “I think it was a blessing to preach to American troops in a country like Afghanistan and tell local workers about the Lord Jesus.”

There were also sad moments during King’s stay in Afghanistan. He remembered watching the bodies of U.S. soldiers come down the conveyer belt and remembers hearing reports of people he knew who were injured or killed in ambushes or by land mine explosions.

“People got hurt in skirmishes in what was guerilla warfare,” said King. “I never knew who the enemy was. But, now it’s getting worse.”

To help him cope throughout his service, King maintained his closeness to God while thinking of his home and family life.

“We had a phone and laptop I used to stay in touch with family. That made it easier for me,” said King. “My family also sent me letters and care packages.”

Included in an Easter basket sent from his family were chocolates. King said he gave a few of these chocolates to one special Afghan worker.

“That man hugged me. He said ‘thank you’ and you could tell he really appreciated it,” said King. “Every time I saw him I gave him something.

“If somebody shows them that they care, that’s all they need to love you,” King said. “My love was there, too. I just wanted to help.”

On trips outside the airbase, military personnel were required to move in a convoy to ensure safety. King’s trips were primarily for checking other post offices to see how their operations were running.

“We would go to Kabul traveling in civilian SUVs,” said King. “The windows had to be sealed up and we had practice drills so we knew what to do in case of an attack.”

King said the streets were crowded with Afghan citizens dressed in their natural garb standing near the street, riding bicycles or driving 1960-style cars.

“Here were the Afghanis driving around in old cars from the 1960s while a few wealthy drug lords drove around in luxury vehicles,” King said.

Describing the conditions, King said it was easy to tell Afghanistan is a third world country. Run-down mud and stone buildings stood on the border of the cement main road while several other dirt roads trailed into the distance.

Distant mountains and high sand-blowing winds were a part of the natural terrain in Afghanistan.

“At the base, they had large rocks for us to walk on,” said King. “The rocks were laid to hold down the sand so it wouldn’t blow in our eyes.”

Although the temperature in Afghanistan reached close to 100 degrees during parts of June and July, King said the cooled nights were beautiful.

“I feel better since I went over there,” said King. “I lost a lot of weight from running in the morning and met a lot of people.”

King said every Friday at the airbase was host to local merchants selling items such as antique muskets, knives, swords, blankets and their services, such as tailoring.

“They sold tailored suits for $50,” King said. “They would size you there. I bought six suits to wear for when I am preaching. We paid them in U.S. dollars and they loved it because our money is worth more.”

Despite the invitation to sell their goods to U.S. troops, King said the military still experienced opposition. According to King, U.S. officials would try to reach an agreement with the opposition by taking away the benefit of the bazaar.

“We would tell them: ‘If you continue to shoot rockets at us, we won’t have any more bazaars,'” King said.

In addition to purchasing their merchandise, U.S. officials also employed Afghan citizens to work on the base, paying them $8 per hour.

“It’s better money or just as good as some make in the states,” said King. “If they come to the U.S., they’ll know this is what they can be paid.”

King described Afghan laborers as “real hard workers.” He said when U.S. workers would take a break, the Afghan workers would continue their labors.

“They were really good guys,” said King. “They would laugh and kid around with us. It made me feel really good to be their friend.”

King said the Afghan people were receiving help from other groups and organizations.

“There were civil affair groups helping to build buildings, visiting orphanages and more,” said King. “They are really helping the public. Anybody who has a heart, when they see the people and the sorry conditions they are in, they would want to help.”

King’s tour of duty in Afghanistan lasted from February to August, but he said he might have to return later in the year, depending on reports.

Born in Smock, King and his four other brothers and sisters grew up in the borough of Perryopolis.

At the decline of the Vietnam era, King was drafted into the Army shortly after graduating from Laurel Highlands High School. The year was 1972. At the young age of 19, King was sent directly to basic training in Fort Dix, N.J., missing the tail end of the Vietnam War.

King was sent to the Persian Gulf War in the early 1990s. King said the war in Iraq is much worse than the Persian Gulf War.

“I see it as we can’t help everybody, but we can help who we can,” King said. “The Bible said ‘blessed are our peacemakers.’ This war is the right thing to do.”

King believes there was a missed opportunity to capture or kill Saddam Hussein during Desert Storm.

“We should have got him already,” King said. “If we would have got him, things would have been a lot different then and a lot better now.”

King continues to have faith that Hussein will be found.

“I believe they are going to get him,” King said.

Although he is very grateful to be home with his family, King said if his country needs him once again, he would not think twice about going.

“I follow my commander and do what I can when my country calls,” said King. “The military has been really good to me and the Army has been really good to me. With the gratitude I have, I am willing to go back for the country.”