Some soldiers come home with stories they never want to tell—until they can’t keep them in any longer.In this episode of Our WWII Dad, we sit down with Mikke Pierson—former mayor of Malibu, volunteer firefighter, and proud son of Frank Pierson.Frank wasn’t a war hero. He was a dedicated young soldier who led dangerous patrols behind enemy lines in the Pacific. One moment during the war stayed with him for life... and changed how he saw the world.After the war, Frank turned quiet pain into lasting purpose. He became an Oscar-winning screenwriter and a Hollywood legend—writing Cat Ballou, Cool Hand Luke, and Dog Day Afternoon. He went on to direct 1976’s A Star is Born.This is the story of how one soldier’s struggle became a legacy of words, meaning, and impact.Episode Highlights:Getting to know another WWII Son, Mikke Pierson (00:44), The Discussion of Frank R. Pierson, Mikke’s WWII Dad (3:37), Mikke’s background – growing up in California, owning ZJ Boarding House, being The Mayor of Malibu, starting Business Growth Solutions, and working as a Volunteer Fire Fighter (4:16), Mikke’s WWII Dad – Frank R. Pierson’s young life (11:00), Frank’s mother, Louise Randall Pierson, author of the novel “Roughly Speaking.” Later made into a feature film starring Rosalind Russell (11:48), Frank Pierson’s enlistment into WWII (13:01), Frank’s WWII service as an Infantryman in the US Army in the Pacific Theatre (14:50), Our Two WWII Dad’s war memorabilia (17:46), Frank Pierson’s WWII assignments behind enemy lines (19:31), Frank writes “With Blood on Our Hands”, a LA Times article about his WWII mission in Aitape, New Guinea (19:57), Frank’s post-war life – Harvard University and being a field correspondent for Time & Life magazines (29:19), Frank Pierson’s Hollywood pursuits and his angry feelings (29:28), Frank’s Hollywood success (32:07), Frank Pierson’s Oscar nominated screenplay for “Cat Ballou” starring Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin (32:25), Frank wrote “Cool Hand Luke’s” most famous line (32:39), A special gift from Jim Davis, creator of “Garfield” (35:20), Frank Pierson wins an Oscar for “Dog Day Afternoon” starring Al Pacino (36:09), Frank directs 1976’s “A Star is Born” string Barbara Streisand & Kris Kristofferson and his relationships with both stars (38:19), Frank’s supports Mikke’s decision to not sign up for the selective service by writing an newspaper article (40:00), Frank Pierson & Barbara Streisand’s relationship (41:30), Frank Pierson – President of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), President of the Writers Guild of America (WGA), and teacher at American Film Institute (AFI) (42:43), Frank directs “Conspiracy” for HBO Films (43:32), Would Frank Pierson have been on Social Media if it was available during his time? (45:23), Mikke’s relationship with his WWII Dad, Frank Pierson (47:03), Frank’s work on “Mad Men” for its creator, Matthew Weiner (49:38), Were Our WWII Dads cool when they were younger? And how we got to know them better when we, their sons, got older (50:31), Finding the connection to Our WWII Dads (55:56), Mikke drops a bomb of information about he and his dad’s relationship...he was adopted (56:34), and like, comment, and email us at [email protected] (01:00:18).

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