United States Army Corporal And Former POW Frank Louis Garguiolo Is This Week’s Hometown Hero

It’s time once again for our Hometown Hero, brought to you by Batavia Downs Gaming with help from our friends at WNY Heroes who help us with our nominations every week.  This week, our Hometown Hero is from Buffalo, NY.  It’s United States Army Corporal Frank Louis Garguiolo!

Corporal Garguiolo (Gar Jew Lo) is a former World War II Prisoner of War.  He was inducted into the Army on April 8 1943 and trained as an anti-aircraft specialist in Virginia. Garguiolo joined the 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division in North Africa where he suffered a severe illness and was hospitalized over two weeks. Once he recovered he participated in brutal landings in Salerno Naples and Anzio Italy. He considers the Anzio campaign the most challenging as his division held only a marginal strip of land while enduring heavy casualties. While fighting in the Mediterranean, he was wounded and awarded his first Purple Heart.

He recently was awarded by General Mad Dog Mathis for exemplary service in combat on May 27, 1944 during his tour. He also was awarded the French Fourragere, and on June 23, 2017 France’s highest honor, the French Legion of Honor Medal. After the success of Operation Dragoon, Garguiolo fought in Ardennes and then while serving as a squad leader, Garguiolo fought his final battle on Oct 30, 1944 in Saint Die', France, where German Forces fortified within a mountain cave, ambushed his squad with heavy arsenal. Ultimately, Frank was the sole surviving squad member after fiercely fighting to protect his fallen fellow soldiers and striving to hold back the Nazis until depleting all of his ammunition, he was taken as POW and held captive for 6 months before he was released.

This week, we are honored to name Corporal Frank Louis Garguiolo our Hometown Hero of the week!

If you would like to nominate your own Hometown Hero, click the button below. We like to honor both active duty and veteran heroes from right here in Western New York.

Thanks once again to United States Army Corporal Frank Louis Garguiolo, our Hometown Hero of the week!