Pfc Franklin

Born on February 12, 1924, in Birmingham, Alabama, William R. Franklin was one of many young Americans who answered the call to service during World War II. He grew up with four brothers and three sisters and with a fourth-grade education. He was one of the younger men in Company E at that time.

"Ralph" enlisted in the U.S. Army on January 25, 1943. By July 7, 1943, he was assigned as a Private to Company E, 39th Infantry Regiment, joining its 2nd Platoon from the replacement depot in Tunisia. This assignment came just before the 39th Combat Team embarked on its amphibious landing in Sicily on July 10, 1943. Private Franklin, along with fellow newcomers like Gill, Minjack, Adams, and Rekettye, was thrust into the fierce combat of the Sicilian campaign, enduring brutal battles like Troina. In August 1943, Franklin was wounded by shrapnel, earning him his first Purple Heart. He recuperated and returned to Company E, in Cefalu, Sicily, on September 30, 1943, alongside fellow E Company man Clarence Schaffer. These early engagements, including his injury and recovery, seasoned him, preparing him for the even greater challenges that lay ahead in Europe. 

After training in England the first six months of 1944, Private Franklin and Easy Company landed on the French coast as part of the Normandy invasion on June 10. Their mission was to cut off the Cotentin Peninsula and seize the vital port of Cherbourg.

By June 24, 1944, the fighting had intensified dramatically around Cherbourg. Easy Company was engaged in the grim task of clearing heavily fortified German defenses on the hills surrounding the city. These formidable obstacles included concrete pillboxes, intricate networks of machine gun and mortar emplacements, barbed wire, and anti-tank ditches. Key strongpoints, perched on the heights, were bristling with machine guns and 88mm guns, making every inch of advance a deadly struggle. Company E, like other units, faced tenacious resistance, often encountering well-sited German positions that pinned down troops under intense fire, requiring direct assaults to overcome them.

It was on this day, June 24, 1944, while engaged in this relentless push to clear the German defenses outside Cherbourg, that Private William R. Franklin was killed instantly by artillery fire. His ultimate sacrifice earned him a second Purple Heart.  He also earned the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Good Conduct Ribbon, and the Machine Gunner's Medal.