Frank "Jesse" Otis was a Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 surgeon and flight surgeon

Flight surgeon

A flight surgeon is a military medical officer assigned to duties in the clinical field variously known as aviation medicine, aerospace medicine, or flight medicine...

 for the Massachusetts Air National Guard

Massachusetts Air National Guard

The Massachusetts Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is, along with the Massachusetts Army National Guard, an element of the Massachusetts National Guard...

's 101st Observation Squadron who was memorialized after his death when Otis Field was named after him.

Biography

Born 19 Jun 1905 in Chicago, Illinois to Frank J. Otis, Sr. and Mabel Howe. Frank was an intern at the Boston City Hospital

Boston City Hospital

The Boston City Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, was "intended for the use and comfort of poor patients, to whom medical care will be provided at the expense of the city, and .....

. He was a graduate of the Harvard University Medical School. He was also a member of the 101st Observation Squadron. On January 11, 1931 while traveling to his parents' house in Moline, Illinois

Moline, Illinois

Moline is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, with a population of 45,792 in 2010. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline and Rock Island in Illinois and the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa. The Quad Cities has a population of...

, his plane went down in the Illinois River

Illinois River

The Illinois River is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the State of Illinois. The river drains a large section of central Illinois, with a drainage basin of . This river was important among Native Americans and early French traders as the principal water route...

 near Hennepin

Hennepin, Illinois

Hennepin is a village on the Illinois River in Putnam County, Illinois, United States. The population was 707 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Putnam County.Hennepin is part of the Ottawa–Streator Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

. At the time of his death, he was a Second Lieutenant

Second Lieutenant

Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...

 in the air national guard. The official military explanation says that he was killed on a cross country training mission, and this is backed up by the fact that he was flying a Douglas O-46A. In 1938, the airfield at Camp Edwards

Camp Edwards

Camp Edwards is a United States military training installation which is located in western Barnstable County, Massachusetts. It forms the largest part of the Massachusetts Military Reservation, which also includes Otis Air National Guard Base and Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod. It was named after...

 was named Otis Field after him.