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By Jack Beresford
Senior Reporter
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A Colorado man has shared striking photos from his father’s time as a reconnaissance pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.
Michael Savino, originally from the East Coast, said his father, Second Lieutenant Frank V. Savino, rarely spoke about his service.
“My dad was part of the Silent Generation who didn’t talk much about the war,” he told Newsweek.
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He knew his father enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps, trained as a pilot and eventually flew the P-38 Lightning configured for photo reconnaissance—missions that involved capturing images of troop movements, airfields, potential targets and bomb damage.
Quiet Record of Service
Savino arrived in England in December 1944 and served with the 30th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron (PRS).
“He only told our family limited stories,” his son said. "He told us how one time he was chased by a [German] Messerschmitt. He pushed the throttles full forward and aimed into the sun. The P-38 didn't have any armaments, only cameras mounted in the front, so it was fast and could fly high.”
Another memory surfaced when Savino was a teenager exploring a career in aviation.
“I was being recruited by a flight school and one of their salespeople came over to the house." he said. "It was the first and only time I heard a story my dad told this gentleman. The story was of how my dad lost his senior wingman on my dad's first mission. Dad said he took off, entered some clouds with his wingman not far behind. Dad exited the clouds and his wingman never did.”
Savino said his father never mentioned the story again. Frank died in 1992, when Savino was in his mid-30s and never got the chance to ask for more details.
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Photos Left Behind
Frank did, however, leave behind a collection of photos taken by the 30th PRS.
“The photographs were part of a collection of photos he was provided when the war ended,” Savino said. “It's not clear to our family which of these he took versus what were taken by his squadron, the 30th PRS.”
The 30th PRS played a critical role in the European Theater, providing aerial intelligence from 1943 to 1945. Among its most significant contributions were reconnaissance images of Utah Beach ahead of the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944.
Those images helped planners prepare for D-Day—an operation that opened a crucial second front in Western Europe, strained Nazi Germany’s defenses, and helped turn the tide of the war.
Among the collection are photos later identified as Utah Beach, taken in May 1944, just weeks before the invasion.
“These were clearly recon pictures taken in preparation for D-Day,” Savino said. “The pics show the scale and the enormity of the task facing everyone who stormed those beaches that day.”
One image stands out in particular: members of the 30th PRS gathered around a freshly dug grave.
"I could see my dad standing front and center, with the most somber look on his face,” Savino said.
Another shows a P-38 flyover in the “missing man” formation, a tribute to a fallen airman.
Savino realized the "missing man" was likely the wingman killed on his father's first mission.
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Uncovering Lost Story
It was years later that Savino began piecing together the identity of the wingman.
In 2011, he found a 30th PRS history site with an entry dated January 21, 1945, that read: “We lost a swell pilot today, Lt. Vernon J. Razak, while flying with a pilot on his first mission.”
Savino immediately realized, given the dates, that the pilot on the "first mission" was his father.
With a name to search, he uncovered more: Razak was buried in Belgium, and records included the report Frank had given to squadron leaders describing the loss.
Savino eventually found a social media post by Razak’s nephew and made contact. Through that connection, he learned Vernon Razak had a twin brother, Virgil. Both studied aeronautics, but Virgil was disqualified from flying because of an inner ear issue—a regret he carried for the rest of his life.
"I'm now Facebook friends with Virgil's son," Savino said.
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Lasting Connection
After the war, Frank Savino devoted his career to the Boy Scouts of America, a commitment his son sees as a way of giving back. More than 30 years after his father’s death, though, Savino still feels the absence of conversations never had—about life, aviation and the war. A small-plane pilot, he now shares the same passion for flight his father once did.
“My dad loved going to the airport to watch planes take off and land,” he said. “It wasn’t until years later I realized that, after flying in World War II, he still had that desire to be in the air. I just wish I could have talked to him about it.”
Though Frank seldom spoke about the war or his love of flying, the 30th PRS photo collection stands as a powerful testament to a time when he soared above the clouds—and quietly helped shape the world that followed.
A selection of Savino's photos can be viewed below:
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