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Fredric Arnold was a “reluctant warrior,” creative dynamo and decorated World War II combat pilot.
He miraculously survived 50 missions of flying P-38 Lightning warplanes over North Africa and Europe.
The death he witnessed and inflicted in war was in deep contrast with the mild-mannered child prodigy artist from Chicago who spent the rest of his life as a creator: drawing, writing, acting and inventing.
“He was a sensitive artist who ended up killing and [was] at risk of being killed in combat,” his son, Marc Arnold, told Fox News Digital.
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“It was a torturous experience for him,” he said.
Yet the human gift of creativity within Arnold survived and thrived despite the scars of war.
Fredric Arnold was a child-prodigy artist from Chicago and just 19 years old when the United States was attacked at Pearl Harbor. Arnold fought 50 combat missions overseas, and lived an incredible life after the war as artist, author, actor, sculptor and inventor. His most commonly used invention was the folding aluminum beach chair. At age 94, he completed a sculpture dedicated to the 88,000 American pilots killed in World War II. (Courtesy Fredric Arnold Family)
Among other creative achievements, Arnold patented the aluminum-and-nylon folding beach chair, so familiar to summertime sand, surf, backyards and barbecues across the United States.
“Portable and easy to store, the American-style Lawn Chair is the ultimate symbol of the ideal summer day, along with cold beers and smoking barbecues,” Publisher Phaidon Press wrote of Arnold’s leisure-time creation in its 2018 coffee-table tome, “Chair: 500 Designs That Matter.”
“He was a sensitive artist who ended up killing and [was] at risk of being killed in combat.” — son Marc Arnold
His invention influenced the way millions of Americans enjoy idyllic summers and won accolades for its contribution to industrial…
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