Frank Mitchell
Summary
Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell's father was a test pilot who lost both his legs in a crash when Cameron was about ten years old.
Character Biography
Passing on his "never quit" attitude to his young son, Mitchell overcame the tragic loss of his legs and built a strong relationship with his impressionable son. Seeing the fear on his young son's face as he saw the extent of his father's injuries, Mitchell gave his son a reassuring smile which helped the boy adjust to their new situation. A few months following the accident, Mitchell and his son watched the first Space Shuttle's launch and he declared that if they could build a space plane, certainly he could learn to walk again. Indeed, Mitchell did learn to walk again with the aid of artificial limbs and crutches.
Cameron followed in his father's footsteps and became a pilot in the Air Force. On one of his bombing missions when he was a Captain, he dropped a bomb on a caravan of three vehicles, obeying orders that the target was confirmed. As soon as he released the bomb, the confirmation on the target was withdrawn and the young Captain watched in horror as his bomb hit its target with deadly accuracy. He found out that the convoy was peopled by refugees and nearly resigned his commission.
After Cameron talked about this incident with his father, the elder Mitchell encouraged him that he was just like him and couldn't stop looking for more beyond the horizon and that he would survive this set-back and become stronger for it. Little did either one know at that time how profound Mitchell's words to his son were and that Cameron's resolve would be tested when he crashed in Antarctica and, just like his father, had to learn to walk again.
Frank Mitchell lives with his wife Wendy on a farm in Auburn, Kansas (10.15 "Bounty"). Cameron and Vala Mal Doran stayed with the couple when Cam returned to Auburn for his twentieth high school reunion.
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--DeeKayP 18:50, 24 January 2006 (PST)