World War II Honoree

Frank B. Murphy

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

Albany, New York

Honored By

RMCS M.J. Lynett USN (Ret)

Relationship

Fellow Veteran

He volunteered for the draft early so that he was called up by the U.S. Army as soon as he turned 18. A member of the 85th Infantry Division’s 339th Infantry Regiment (nicknamed the "Polar Bears"), he completed his training in North Africa and then shipped out to join the fighting in Italy. His "baptism by fire" took place in March 1944 on the Minturno-Castelforte front north of Naples. Later, he was part of the offensive push towards Rome that began on May 11th and broke through the famed Gustav Line on May 18th. He marched through the city streets on the day Rome fell. He continued fighting northward through the rugged Apennine Mountains in a campaign marked by mud, cold, and heavy casualties. By the end of the war, he had been promoted directly from Private to Staff Sergeant.