frank parater was born on october 10, 1897 to a catholic family in richmond, virginia, the son of captain francis j. parater, sr. and his second wife, mary richmond. while growing up, he served as an altar boy, and attended the xaverian brothers' school (subsequently called saint patrick's school) and benedictine high school (subsequently called benedictine college preparatory) in richmond. in 1917, he graduated as the valedictorian of his class. parater was active in scouting, and achieved the rank of eagle scout.