~Frank J. Bennino ~
I am honored to share with you the life of Corporal Frank J. Bennino- a man remembered for his courageous service in World War II. Frank was born Christmas Eve, 1923 in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, to Mary and Nunzio Bennino. He had a close bond to his older brother Horace and his two younger sisters Alice and Edith. He was the more reserved one in the family but if you asked, people would say he was always thoughtful and caring. His home was lively and loving with ten people, including his grandmother, living there. Growing up in his musically-oriented family, Frank showed a love for singing and dancing. He also enjoyed sports and in the winter time he would skate on the neighborhood pond.
After graduating from Wethersfield High School in 1941, he worked at the Hartford Machine Screw Company as a cargo checker for items being shipped out. Less than two years later Frank was drafted into the army. He was proud to serve his country- just like his own father, an immigrant from Italy, who had served America in World War I.
Frank served as a technician in the ordnance department. But during the war he became close friends with a chaplain from Chicago named Frannie who eventually asked Frank to become his driver. Right before the June 6th invasion Frank met in England, for one last time, with his brother Horace who was also about to sail for Normandy. On August 6, 1944, Frank was driving the Chaplain in Le Ham, France, when his jeep collided with a U.S. tank. Though the Chaplain survived, Frank was killed instantly, becoming the second Rocky Hill boy to lose his life in World War II. Frank never learned that the first fallen soldier from Rocky Hill, killed only six weeks earlier, was his own brother- Horace.
Frank's mother never quite recovered from the loss of both her sons. Nearly 70 years later, Frank's sister Edith still cries when she thinks of her brothers and wonders what her family would be like if her brothers had survived. Just like his sister, I wondered a lot during this project about the many "what-if's." I can't imagine the strength it took for the Bennino family to cope with the loss of the boys; especially their mother Mary. I now understand that due to their tremendous sacrifice for freedom, my generation has a better future.
Frank's mother never quite recovered from the loss of both her sons. Nearly 70 years later, Frank's sister Edith still cries when she thinks of her brothers and wonders what her family would be like if her brothers had survived. Just like his sister, I wondered a lot during this project about the many "what-if's." I can't imagine the strength it took for the Bennino family to cope with the loss of the boys; especially their mother Mary. I now understand that due to their tremendous sacrifice for freedom, my generation has a better future.