Throughout 1945, Dr. Franks wrote the War Department multiple times asking to go to Romania to search for Jesse’s body but recieved no answer. Finally, in 1946, Mississippi Congressman Whittington told him that it would be too difficult to set up employment and almost impossible for them to even get him a passport because Romania was now in control of the Soviet Union. Tensions were growing too high with the looming Cold War.
In August 1946 Dr. Franks got yet another report about Jesse. This time it was from the International Red Cross who said his body was found buried near Ploesti with his ID tags on the grave marker. However, in September Dr. Franks received clarification from the War Department that they probably recovered the remains of Jesse but could not identify them because of the accident. Once again in January 1947 Dr. Franks requested to visit the Romanian battlefield sites around Ploesti to search but was turned away by the War Department. February of that year he had a breakthrough in his search as he was offered a position with the World Council of Churches to assist with relief and reconstruction in Geneva, Switzerland. On May 1, 1947, Dr. Franks and Augusta moved to France. They were required to stay for at least a year but would end up staying 8 years in Europe. Moving from France to Geneva and then to Poland in August of 1947. |