| An airborne hero - Frank Munafo (513th PIR) |
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AN AIRBORNE HERO FRANK MUNAFO (513F) FINALLY RECEIVES HIS SILVER STAR
It all began on a bitter cold morning of 4 January 1945 during the Bulge in World War II. The 17th Airborne Division attached to the Third Army had moved onto the front lines the day before and were ordered to attack at 0815 hrs the morning of the fourth. Unknown to us at the time, we were attacking the flank of a crack German Panzer Division that was poised to attack Bastogne where the 101st Airborne Division was surrounded. Staff Sergeant John O. Paul was leading the 3rd Platoon of Company F, 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 17th Airborne Division. Sergeant Paul and his Platoon left the line of departure as ordered. Within the first halfhour, his Platoon came under extremely heavy enemy fire leaving many men dead and wounded. Paul himself was severely wounded by shrapnel in both legs and shot in the upper right arm by a sniper. On hearing of Sergeant Paul´s situation, Private Frank Munafo left his position of relative safety and at extreme risk to his own life, ran directly into murderous enemy machine gun, mortar and artillery fire to rescue his Platoon Leader, Sergeant John O. Paul. Because the 1st Lieutenant of the third platoon was wounded and evacuated early in this attack, and the 2nd Lieutenant was not totally aware of the situation, this act of bravery has gone unrecognized for over 55 years. That is, until 22 November 1998, when John O. Paul wrote a letter to the Military Awards Branch in Alexandria, VA recommending that Mr. Munafo receive an award for his courageous actions that day. John D. Lariccia and myself also wrote letters attesting to the events of that day. I am most happy to say that the Silver Star for Gallantry in Action was awarded to Mr. Munafo.
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