PVT Joseph Franek was born on April 27, 1887 in Conway, Walsh county, North Dakota. He was killed October 2, 1918. He is buried in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial in Lorraine, France. It is unknown when Joseph came to Savage, but upon arrival he received a plot of land under the Enlarged Homestead Act of 1909 from the United States government in 1913. The transaction was listed in the Yellowstone Monitor, published in Glendive, MT, posted an article on March 6, 1913 listed under Real Estate Transfers. Joseph Franek was married to Hazel May Morrison in Glendive, Dawson County, Montana on April 22, 1913. During the “Great War” many of the soldiers who ended up going to fight in Europe were from Montana. These boys showed massive amounts of courage and honor. PVT Joseph Franek was one of those boys, but in the end he lost his life. He was a private in the 91st division 362 infantry regiment. He was awarded the WWI victory medal after his death. During WWI there were around 600 casualties from Montana. Joseph Franek is a great example of the bravery and courage of the Montana Boys.