Gabriel Frangione of Sherman Avenue in Raritan is the Grand Marshall
for the 2010 John Basilone Memorial Parade
 He served in the Army during World War II as a Combat Engineer in the 203rd Battalion
Gabriel grew up in Somerville,
but has lived in Raritan since 1946
click for details on his story 		Gabriel with his wife Mary at The Opening
of The World War II Memorial in Washington D.C.
click for The Story of How They Met
click for photos from the Opening of
The World War II Memorial in Washington D.C.
He participated in the invasion at
Omaha Beach in Normandy France
on D-Day June 6th, 1944

For this he was awarded
The French Normandy Beach Medal.

Click for his experience and thoughts about D-Day
His Engineering unit built a bridge inside Germany to help the
advancing troops move equipment. Click for more photos
Gabriel in England with 5 guys from Raritan / Somerville
Top: John Yanish - Wisniewski - Harcarik
Bottom: Frangione - Tony Vitaliano - George Suk		 While in Belgium, U.S. troops often stayed with local residents
Here is Gabriel with some of the Belgium people.
Soon after D-Day, Paris was liberated by the U.S.
Here Gabriel enjoys the peace while site seeing at The Arc of Triumph and The Eiffel Tower.
Serving Your Country is a Frangione Family Tradition.
His father Louis served in World War I		 His grandson Brian Frangione is in the National Guard.
He is also a Demolitions Engineer.
click for a recent article about him in The Courier News
Click for photos from Gabriel's World War II Scrapbook