Arthur F. DeFranzo: Medal of Honor Recipient

 (Editor’s Note: This is the first in a two-part series of articles about Arthur F. DeFranzo, a Saugus hero who sacrificed his life to save the lives of his fellow soldiers in World War II. He was the first Saugus man killed during the D-Day Invasion on June 10, 1944. He is the town’s lone Medal of Honor recipient. He is one of 11 fallen heroes whose families will be honored at the Massachusetts Medal of Liberty Ceremony set for 10 a.m. Sept. 21 at 50 Maple St. in Milford.)

By Cary Walsh, nephew of Arthur DeFranzo

Submitted by Janice Jarosz

Staff/Sgt. Arthur Fredrick DeFranzo was born on March 28, 1919, at home in the Baker Hill neighborhood, to parents Grace and Charles.

During his younger years, Arthur would wake up at 5 AM each morning to deliver newspapers before school. At night, he once again delivered the evening edition to his customers. During the summer he worked at the Sim Carnation farm for 10 cents an hour, as did many of his family and friends.

Arthur graduated from Saugus High School in 1938 but was unable to find work due to the Great Depression. He then decided to join the work crews of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

He later found employment at the Converse Rubber Company in Malden, Mass. While there, Congress passed the Selective Service Conscription Act in 1940, and Arthur enlisted for the infantry in November of 1940. His enlistment was nearly complete when World War II was declared one year later on December 7, 1941, and he told his family that he was going to make serving in the military his career.

Arthur was one of the first volunteer soldiers in Saugus, and as he was boarding the train in Saugus Center, he was given a town sendoff along with a wristwatch. He trained at Fort Devens and quickly attained the rank of Sergeant within a year and soon after was made Staff Sergeant.

He received numerous medals for his expert marksmanship and proficiency with the machine gun and hand grenades.

Once the war broke out, Staff/Sgt. DeFranzo was transferred and assigned to overseas service; one year later he and his unit Co. “K” of the 18th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division was sent to England, and several weeks later he was sent to Africa to battle General Erwin Rommel’s troops and the Italian troops under Marshal Badoglio. He participated in the capture of Oran, Tunis, Bizerte and later the invasion of Sicily, Italy and France.

Arthur always wrote home telling everyone to “keep smiling.” He never wanted his loved ones to worry about him. It wasn’t until years later that his family and friends learned, through John Nagle, a childhood friend, of his being a P.O.W. for two weeks in May of 1943.

He was captured by the Germans in the Battle of Kasserine in Algeria and spent two weeks in a POW camp living on carrots and cabbage until, somehow, he escaped from the camp.

Officer John Nagle, the childhood friend, spotted a figure advancing toward him and his men. John thought he recognized the uniform and told his men to hold their fire. The advancing figure of a man was the weakened and hungry Arthur, wearing a tattered and blood-stained uniform.

What were the odds that he was rescued by his friend from Saugus! John helped clean up his war-torn friend and returned him to Co. “K.” John was the last Saugus friend to see Arthur before he participated in the Normandy Invasion.

(Next week: Arthur’s war record.)