06/07/2026
Eighty two years ago on this date, June 6th, the massive invasion by our troops signaled a pivotal point in World War II. Many, including, Fayette County men, were lost. One of the survivors was profiled by Buzz Storey in his book "Another Look." Here is what he said about this soldier, Frank Markus:
During World War II, Frank Williams Markus of Lemont Furnace stormed ashore in three different invasions, fought through seven campaigns in Africa and Europe, escaped from a bombed and burning prisoner of war ship, was wounded and decorated for heroism. He died in 1983 at age 66.
Now his memory has been honored once more by a medal from France in recognition of his service on D-Day, June 6, 1944. The Medaille du Jubile de la Liberte was forwarded recently by the District Council of Lower Normandy.
The citation proclaims the gratitude of the people of Normandy, "For your courage. For your abnegation, for your exploits, for our freedom."
Markus was a combat infantryman, a machine gunner, in Company C of the 16th Infantry, part of the famed 1st Infantry Division or "Big Red One."
After landing in North Africa in November 1942, he was awarded the Bronze Star for bravery in wiping out a German machine gun nest while acting as a scout for his unit. Later he took part in eliminating another macine gun position (his buddies felt that he should have received another medal.)
The division was forced to regroup during heavy fighting and while trying to rejoin friendly forces, Markus found himself in a town where he hid in a vacant house while a little French girl brough him food and water. A neighborhood boy turned them in and he was captured, questioned brutally by German SS officers and held for weeks in a makeshift stockade with poor shelter and little to eat.
Markus and other prisonerss were herded onto an Italian ship in Tunisia for transport across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, but it was attacked and set afire by American planes. Many of the POWs drowned, but others, including Markus, escaped through a hole blown out by a bomb. French and British partisans set out from shore in motorboats to rescue them.
Returning to his unit, Markus landed on his next beachead, in Sicily, in July 1943. After Sicily was secured, the 1st Division was pulled out of Sicily and sent to England to prepare for D-Day in Normandy.
Markus landed in the first wave on Omaha Beach. In water over his head, he had to discard his equipment and re-arm himself from the dead and wounded when he reached the beach.
He continued fighting with his division until Dec. 15, when he was pulled out of combat. That didn't last long, as the Germans attacked in the Battle of the Bulge. He fought on, until severely wounded by an artillery shell near Aachen, Germany.
He was also diagnosed as suffering from battle fatigue. The doctors told him, "Too long you have gone through hell." He was transferred to an Air Force support unit then to a non-combat unit in Belgium.
But his daughter, Carol Cox, said, "He never talked about it."
A brother, Joseph, of Cape Coral, Fla., himself a disabled veteran from service in Europe, has persevered for years in contacting the Pentagon and Congress in the quest for the highter recognition. The apparent loss of many of his papers has been a problem.
Markus and his wife, the former Fern Addis, had two children. His daughter, Mrs. Dennis (Carol) Co, lives in Uniontown and his son, Frank in Brownsville. There are three grandchildren, Jason and Jeremy Cox and Brian Markus.
Frank was born in Lemont Furnace, son of Ignatius and Frances Markus, and graduated from North Union High School. In addition to Joseph, two other brothers served in World War II, both in the Pacific-John (deceased) and Edward, of Pleasant Hills. A fifth brother, Charles was a supervisor in a Navy bomb factory.
Markus' World War II record was best summed up by the late Congressman Thomas E. Morgan, "How much more can a human being take."
Several years ago the Society put together a tribute to all the men and women who served during World War II. Mr. Markus was one of these stories.
Chris
