Sergeant First Class Frank Cupp joined the U.S. Army at the age of 17 in 1943. During training for the landings on Guadalcanal and Angaur Island, he would achieve the rank of corporal to become a squad leader operating 4.2 mortars. He sustained injuries from a grenade blast, but continued on to the Philippines to fight on Leyte and Mindanao Islands.

Sergeant First Class Cupp left the Army for a brief time and re-enlisted in 1946. During his second enlistment, he was assigned to Edgewood Arsenal and traveled with Chemical Displays and the World of Merit Shows. He would then be assigned to the 9710 Technical Escort Detachment. This unit was responsible for the demolition of chemical agents and weapons, many of which involved dangerous handling and exposure to life and limb. He served with this unit until 1952 when he was discharged for a second time, now at the rank of Sergeant First Class.

After leaving the Army, Sergeant First Class Cupp accepted a position as a civilian at the Edgewood Area of Aberdeen Proving Ground conducting inspections in the Materials Inspections Division and today continues to work with several depots and munitions sites to aid in the cleanup of possible hazards that may still be buried underground.

Sergeant First Class Cupp has also worked closely with Research, Development and Engineering Command to write the history of the Technical Escort team during his army career which has been renamed the 22nd Chemical Battalion Technical Escort unit of today.