What an enchanting name: Marie Antoinette Dansereau.

Dad’s great-uncle Franklin Paul Vayo married her on June 4, 1904.

Now before anyone gets all silly with a “let them eat wedding cake” meme, let me point out the phrase was first quoted long before the future bride of Louis XVI had even set her dainty foot on French soil.

But as long as we’re talking about eating, it feels like poetic justice that Franklin (henceforth referred to as Frank) made a career out of feeding Army troops.

Frank was born on April 21, 1880, to Joseph and Olive of Brewer, Maine. He was the fourth of five brothers (we’ve already met Felix). The oldest and youngest brothers, Joseph and William, went on to become chefs. George, my great-grandfather, was an entrepreneur who opened an assortment of grocery stores over the years, while Felix was a career Army man.

Frank folded those interests together and became a Mess Sergeant.

But first, he wrote this letter home in 1899:

He spent the next three decades serving in the Army’s harbor defenses in Portland, Maine. Whenever his hitch was up, he reinlisted.

Meanwhile, he and Marie grew their family, with six sons and two daughters.

Several newspaper articles proclaimed Frank as a highly esteemed member of the community and Army base.

There was even a surprise presentation one Christmas:

Christmas day during the serving of dinner to the members of the 8th Co. at Fort McKinley, Capt. J.R. Musgrave on behalf of the members of the company presented to Quartermaster Sergeant Frank P. Vayo, a member of that company, a handsome gold watch. Capt. Musgrave also on his own behalf presented Sergt. Vayo with a watch fob.

Sergt. Vayo, while connected with the 8th Co. has won the esteem and respect of all the members and the commanding officer. … the gifts from the commander and men at this season of the year are but a slight token of the respect and esteem in which Sergt. Vayo is held, and serve as a token of the appreciation of the services of this popular sergeant as the company quartermaster.” ~ quoted from the Portland Press, January 1911

In April of 1916, just three months after suffering the loss of their youngest child (baby George was born prematurely and died the same day), Frank was ordered to report to Panama.

This article announcing his departure included a story about his four older sons.

If you’ve seen A Sound of Music, you may find yourself picturing Christopher Plummer:

An abridged version of the story ran in papers throughout the United States and Canada. From the Boston Globe to the Salt Lake Herald. Even the Montreal Star.

This one included a photo of the boys:

Those little fellows, from left: Frank, Harold, Percy, and Reginald. Sisters Geraldine and Regina weren’t included in the drills, nor was baby Herbert. (Interestingly, it was Herbert who joined the military and served for 30 years in the Navy.)

Newspaper articles over the years praised Frank’s organizational skills and efficiency. In 1919 came word he was creating a cooking school, to train “… all cooks of the Third Maine in the use of the government ration.” It was deemed a huge success.

Fast forward to Frank’s retirement in 1929 with his grown family:

Sadly, Marie Antoinette had passed away five years earlier, in 1924. The newspaper report stated she’d survived a “shock” the previous year, but this second one took her life. According to the Mayo Clinic, a shock is a sudden drop in blood flow throughout the body. Thankfully, Frank was with her at the time.

Frank spent retirement visiting his adult children (two sons had relocated to the Denver area) and wintering in Florida. He remarried in 1942, to Elizabeth Kirchner Benseman, a widow from Chicago with three adult children.

Frank’s life ended at the age of 74 on October 28, 1954. He is buried in Chicago.

Napoleon Bonaparte is often credited with coining the phrase: An army marches on its stomach. From Mess Sergeant to Master Sergeant, Frank Vayo ensured the soldiers in his company (not to mention his sons) marched well.

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