Francis Stephen Bodine was born on a farm in Voltaire, North Dakota, on 3 August 1920. He graduated from Voltaire High in 1938, attended Minot State Teacher's College where he majored in pre-engineering and joined the Civil Air Patrol, learned to fly and became a member of the Flying Beavers. In the fall of 1940 he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and reported to the Aeronautical Academy, Rankin Field, in Tulare, California on 15 March 1941 where he took primary flight training. His first assignment as a new 2nd Lieutenant was as a basic flight training instructor.

In 1943 after B-24 transition training, he was assigned to 489th Bomb Group. His first bombing mission out of Halesworth, England, was on 31 May 1944. In November 1944 after earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and flying 23 missions, he was sent back to the states to train as a B-29 pilot, preparing to serve in the Pacific Theater. His flyaway date turned out to be the day Japan surrendered.

He became a career Air Force officer in 1947. The service sent him to the University of Minnesota to complete his degree in Aeronautical Engineering. Upon graduation he was sent to Korea and served as Deputy Group Commander of the 18th Fighter Bomber Group flying 65 combat missions.

Future assignments took him to Camp Detrick, Maryland, Command and Staff School, Pentagon, Harvard University where he earned an MBA, Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio, Air War College and finally Bedford Air Base, Massachusetts, retiring as Lieutenant Colonel.

Francis was married to Virginia Kletzin, 27 August 1949 and has six children, Sarah, Patrick, James, Stephen, Thomas and Therese - plus twelve grandchildren.

He received the following awards: Distinguished Flying Cross; Air Medal with 4 bronze clusters; Air Force Longevity Service Award Ribbon with 1 silver cluster; Presidential Unit Citation; American Defense Service Medal; American Campaign Medal; European-American-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 4 bronze clusters; World War II Victory Medal; National Defense Service Medal with 1 bronze cluster; Korean Service Medal with 3 bronze clusters and 1 silver cluster; United Nations Service Medal; Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation; Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon.