Frank Roe was born in 1945 in Wyoming. He enlisted in the Army National Guard in November 1962, and went on active duty in the U.S. Army on December 28, 1965. Pvt Roe completed basic training at Fort Bliss, Texas, in March 1966, and then attended Communications Center Specialist training at Fort Gordon, Georgia, from March to June 1966. He attended Basic Airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia, in June and July 1966, followed by Special Forces Engineer training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, from July 1966 to January 1967. His first assignment was as a Special Forces Demolition Specialist with Company B, 6th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg from January to December 1967, and then with Company B, 1st Special Forces Group on Okinawa and Taiwan from December 1967 to December 1968. Sgt Roe next served as a Special Forces Demolition Sergeant with Company A and then Company D of the 5th Special Forces Group in South Vietnam from December 1968 to December 1969, followed by service as a Special Forces Engineering Sergeant with Combat B, 6th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg from December 1969 to April 1972. During this time, SFC Roe served on the Demolition Element of Greenleaf Support Group during the Son Tay Raid, a clandestine mission to rescue American Prisoners of War held in North Vietnam, on November 21, 1970. He served as a Special Forces Engineering Sergeant with 2nd Battalion of the 5th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg from April 1972 to December 1973, and then with Company B, 2nd Battalion of the 1st Special Forces Group on Okinawa from December 1973 to June 1974. SFC Roe next served as a Special Forces Engineering Sergeant and Special Forces Operations Sergeant with Company B and then A, 2nd Battalion of the 5th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg from June 1974 to November 1985, followed by service as Principal Drill Instructor with the Army ROTC detachment at North Carolina State University at Raleigh from November 1985 to January 1990. MSG Roe's next assignment was as Operations Sergeant with Company B, 3rd Battalion of the 5th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg from January to April 1990, and then as Operations Sergeant with Headquarters 1st Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg from April 1990 to November 1991. His final assignment was as Operations Sergeant with Detachment C, 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg from November 1991 until his retirement from the Army on July 1, 1992.

His Silver Star Citation reads:

Sergeant Franklin D. Roe, United States Army, distinguished himself by gallantry in action on 21 November 1970 as a member of an all-volunteer joint U.S. Army and Air Force raiding force in the Joint Chiefs of Staff directed heliborne assault mission to rescue United States military personnel held as a prisoners of war at SON TAY Prison in North Vietnam. Sergeant Roe displayed extraordinary leadership and courage while leading his element in clearing enemy forces from his assigned area. While moving from building to building, he was constantly exposed to automatic weapons fire. On several occasions he was confronted by the enemy at close range. Through his professional leadership and aggressive actions in the objective area he contributed immeasurably to the successful accomplishment of the Support Group mission without the loss of a single life. Sergeant Roe's conscious disregard for his personal safety, extraordinary heroism against an armed hostile force, and extreme devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on him and the United States Army.