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| Frank Wagner: 2019 "Man of the Year," Frontline Arts (photo: Robert Sliclen) |
Frank Wagner died at home in Bogota, NJ on or around Veterans Day, just before his 78th birthday. He was being treated for cancer associated with Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam.
A multiple recipient of art show awards from the VA, Frank shared his art skills with fellow vets at the Secaucus Vet Center art group, Frontline Arts and elsewhere, including as a patient at East Orange and Lyons VA Medical Centers.
A member of Disabled American Veterans, Veterans For Peace and Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Frank was a frequent participant in peace vigils and peace marches in New Jersey, New York and Washington, DC.
His art work appeared in shows at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, Hyde Park, NY; Columbia University, NYC; Puffin Cultural Forum, Teaneck, NJ; Brennan Courthouse, Jersey City; NJ; Frontline Arts, Branchburg, NJ and many other sites.
The
Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste
For
Frank Wagner, 1941-2019
“The
mind is a terrible thing to waste!”
Frank
periodically shouted
At
outrageous inanity by some dim-witted,
Dingbat,
wayward driver—
Peace
buttons festooning Vietnam vet hat,
Frank
fumed for over 50 years
At
being drafted and sent to war
Because
he flunked a college course—
Battlefield
flashbacks set off explosive,
X-rated
outbursts, propelling fireworks
Of
precisely re-calibrated moments
Of
mayhem and miraculous survival—
Dubbing
himself “TuDo,”
Frank
frequented peace vigils and protest
Marches,
smoking tokes, taking photos
And
making exquisite art
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| "Eyes" by Frank Wagner |
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