Major General Joe Franklin

Major General (ret) Joe Franklin was born and raised in Cumberland and graduated from the McDonogh School in Owings Mills in 1951. He went on to the the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, from which he graduated in 1955. He played football at the academy, and once wrestled with Norman Schwarzkopf - and won.
His latest achievement is being named a Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Military Academy; he was nominated for the honor by retired Army Major General Carl McNair Jr., the president of Joe's class. "Throughout his military and civilian business careers, Joe Franklin has shown the qualities of selfless service and dedication to his country and to West Point," McNair wrote.
Franklin's nomination recognized him for his academic skills, including master's degrees he earned in both civil and nuclear enginering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
After graduation from MIT, Joe reported for duty with the Army's Nuclear Power Program, then completed the Engineer Officers' Advanced Course and was selected to be an instructor in the department of military art and engineering at West Point. He also completed a year at the School of Naval Command and was assigned as commander of the 299th Combat Engineer Battalion in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal and two Air Medals.
His next assignment was to the Office of plans and Policy, the J-5 of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was selected for the Army War College and reassigned to the JCS as the Army staff group executive to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, where he was recognized with a second Legion of Merit award and the Joint Service Commendation Medal.
In 1976, he was selected to command the 4th Basic Combat Training Brigade at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and was recalled to the JCS to be the first Army officer to serve as the special assistant to the director of the Joint Staff. He was one of the first members of his graduating class to be promoted to Brigadier General, in 1979.
Soon afterward, Joe Franklin was appointed to be the commander of cadets. He and his wife, Constance - a Cumberland native as well - formed a team that provided an inspiring climate for the first young women to enter and graduate from the Academy. Cumberland's Mike Lewis was present at West Point during the Franklins' tenure there, and gratefully recalls being taken under the couples' wings; he even went on skiing trips with them, and their nurturing made a tough time much smoother for the future doctor.
When Joe left West Point, he became the assistant division commander of the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii during 1982-83, then was assgned as chief of the Joint Military Assistance and Advisory Group in Madrid, Spain. When his tour of duty ended, he was awarded Spain's highest decoration for military service and the Army's Distinguished Service Medal.
After his military retirement in 1987, he remained in Spain and began his service in the corporate world, forming FSA - Franklin Sociedad Anonima, and consulted for U.S. corporations involved with the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona and the World's Fair in SeVille.
Joe was recruited in 1992 to lead Frequency Electronics Inc., a contributor to the U.S. defense, space and telecommunications industries. He stepped down as CEO in 1999 but remains chairman of the board.
In his nomination, General McNair credited General Franklin as the author of a recently published book, "Building Leaders the West Point Way." All royalties from the book are being donated to the Military Academy.
Franklin drew on personal anectdotes from his career; the principles are designed to unlock the reader's full leadership potential.
Joe and Connie (Smith) are the proud parents of four sons and eight grandchildren. Many Cumberland residents will recall the couple; Ada Lu (Snyder) McCord remembers Joe (Sonny) and his sister (Sissy) being baptized in church the same day as she and her twin brother, John.