SILVER STAR HERO, NORMANDY INVASION.
PVT, US ARMY, WWII. Served in Headquarters Company, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division. Received the Purple Heart and Silver Star for Gallantry in Action due to his valiant but unsuccessful effort to secure valuable communication equipment that was stalled on the beachhead. Died of injuries sustained during this effort on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
On 6 June, 1944, as the units of the 18th Infantry were landing on the beach in the vicinity of St. Laurent, France, Private Francis P. Briody, Headquarters Company came ashore as a passenger in a 1/4 ton vehicle loaded with valuable communication equipment. As they landed, during a heavy barrage of artillery and small arms fire, the driver of the vehicle was wounded, and Pvt Briody, doing everything in his power to save the valuable equipment, moved to the driver's seat, but found that the truck was stalled in the sand of the beach. Then, with utter disregard for his own safety, and in the face of fierce enemy fire of all kinds, he got out of the truck and attempted to free the wheels. After working diligently for some time he realized that his efforts were in vain and decided to wait until later that night when conditions would possibly be more favorable. He then dug in on the beach and began his wait. About 2130 hours he left his protected position, again exposing himself to enemy fire, to make another attempt at salvaging the stranded vehicle. As he neared the truck an enemy artillery shell struck an LCT moored nearby and the explosion killed Pvt Briody. His refusal to abandon valuable and much needed equipment, a gallant act which resulted in the loss of his own life, reflects the finest traditions of the service and merits highest praise.
~Cecil A. Fitzpatrick, 1st Lt, 18th Infantry.
BRIODY-Pvt. Francis P., Silver Star hero Normandy invasion, June 7, 1944, beloved son of Frank P. and Alice K., of 49 E. 19th Street, Brooklyn; dear brother of Richard; devoted grandson of Alice T. Kellam; nephew of Albert J. Kellam, Robert E. Griebe, and the late Ethel K. Griebe; Holy Innocents, St. Augustine High and St. John's University '43 graduate.
Pvt. Briody was awarded the following medals for his service:
Silver Star Medal
Purple Heart Medal
Bronze Star Medal
American Theater Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Medal with one Bronze Service Star for the Normandy Campaign and a Bronze Arrowhead for landing at Normandy, 6-7 June, 1944.
World War II Victory Medal
Distinguished Unit Badge
Combat Infantryman Badge
Sharpshooter Badge with Rifle Bar
Thanks to Silent One for sponsoring this memorial.
PVT, US ARMY, WWII. Served in Headquarters Company, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division. Received the Purple Heart and Silver Star for Gallantry in Action due to his valiant but unsuccessful effort to secure valuable communication equipment that was stalled on the beachhead. Died of injuries sustained during this effort on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
On 6 June, 1944, as the units of the 18th Infantry were landing on the beach in the vicinity of St. Laurent, France, Private Francis P. Briody, Headquarters Company came ashore as a passenger in a 1/4 ton vehicle loaded with valuable communication equipment. As they landed, during a heavy barrage of artillery and small arms fire, the driver of the vehicle was wounded, and Pvt Briody, doing everything in his power to save the valuable equipment, moved to the driver's seat, but found that the truck was stalled in the sand of the beach. Then, with utter disregard for his own safety, and in the face of fierce enemy fire of all kinds, he got out of the truck and attempted to free the wheels. After working diligently for some time he realized that his efforts were in vain and decided to wait until later that night when conditions would possibly be more favorable. He then dug in on the beach and began his wait. About 2130 hours he left his protected position, again exposing himself to enemy fire, to make another attempt at salvaging the stranded vehicle. As he neared the truck an enemy artillery shell struck an LCT moored nearby and the explosion killed Pvt Briody. His refusal to abandon valuable and much needed equipment, a gallant act which resulted in the loss of his own life, reflects the finest traditions of the service and merits highest praise.
~Cecil A. Fitzpatrick, 1st Lt, 18th Infantry.
BRIODY-Pvt. Francis P., Silver Star hero Normandy invasion, June 7, 1944, beloved son of Frank P. and Alice K., of 49 E. 19th Street, Brooklyn; dear brother of Richard; devoted grandson of Alice T. Kellam; nephew of Albert J. Kellam, Robert E. Griebe, and the late Ethel K. Griebe; Holy Innocents, St. Augustine High and St. John's University '43 graduate.
Pvt. Briody was awarded the following medals for his service:
Silver Star Medal
Purple Heart Medal
Bronze Star Medal
American Theater Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Medal with one Bronze Service Star for the Normandy Campaign and a Bronze Arrowhead for landing at Normandy, 6-7 June, 1944.
World War II Victory Medal
Distinguished Unit Badge
Combat Infantryman Badge
Sharpshooter Badge with Rifle Bar
Thanks to Silent One for sponsoring this memorial.
SILVER STAR HERO, NORMANDY INVASION.
PVT, US ARMY, WWII. Served in Headquarters Company, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division. Received the Purple Heart and Silver Star for Gallantry in Action due to his valiant but unsuccessful effort to secure valuable communication equipment that was stalled on the beachhead. Died of injuries sustained during this effort on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
On 6 June, 1944, as the units of the 18th Infantry were landing on the beach in the vicinity of St. Laurent, France, Private Francis P. Briody, Headquarters Company came ashore as a passenger in a 1/4 ton vehicle loaded with valuable communication equipment. As they landed, during a heavy barrage of artillery and small arms fire, the driver of the vehicle was wounded, and Pvt Briody, doing everything in his power to save the valuable equipment, moved to the driver's seat, but found that the truck was stalled in the sand of the beach. Then, with utter disregard for his own safety, and in the face of fierce enemy fire of all kinds, he got out of the truck and attempted to free the wheels. After working diligently for some time he realized that his efforts were in vain and decided to wait until later that night when conditions would possibly be more favorable. He then dug in on the beach and began his wait. About 2130 hours he left his protected position, again exposing himself to enemy fire, to make another attempt at salvaging the stranded vehicle. As he neared the truck an enemy artillery shell struck an LCT moored nearby and the explosion killed Pvt Briody. His refusal to abandon valuable and much needed equipment, a gallant act which resulted in the loss of his own life, reflects the finest traditions of the service and merits highest praise.
~Cecil A. Fitzpatrick, 1st Lt, 18th Infantry.
BRIODY-Pvt. Francis P., Silver Star hero Normandy invasion, June 7, 1944, beloved son of Frank P. and Alice K., of 49 E. 19th Street, Brooklyn; dear brother of Richard; devoted grandson of Alice T. Kellam; nephew of Albert J. Kellam, Robert E. Griebe, and the late Ethel K. Griebe; Holy Innocents, St. Augustine High and St. John's University '43 graduate.
Pvt. Briody was awarded the following medals for his service:
Silver Star Medal
Purple Heart Medal
Bronze Star Medal
American Theater Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Medal with one Bronze Service Star for the Normandy Campaign and a Bronze Arrowhead for landing at Normandy, 6-7 June, 1944.
World War II Victory Medal
Distinguished Unit Badge
Combat Infantryman Badge
Sharpshooter Badge with Rifle Bar
Thanks to Silent One for sponsoring this memorial.
PVT, US ARMY, WWII. Served in Headquarters Company, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division. Received the Purple Heart and Silver Star for Gallantry in Action due to his valiant but unsuccessful effort to secure valuable communication equipment that was stalled on the beachhead. Died of injuries sustained during this effort on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
On 6 June, 1944, as the units of the 18th Infantry were landing on the beach in the vicinity of St. Laurent, France, Private Francis P. Briody, Headquarters Company came ashore as a passenger in a 1/4 ton vehicle loaded with valuable communication equipment. As they landed, during a heavy barrage of artillery and small arms fire, the driver of the vehicle was wounded, and Pvt Briody, doing everything in his power to save the valuable equipment, moved to the driver's seat, but found that the truck was stalled in the sand of the beach. Then, with utter disregard for his own safety, and in the face of fierce enemy fire of all kinds, he got out of the truck and attempted to free the wheels. After working diligently for some time he realized that his efforts were in vain and decided to wait until later that night when conditions would possibly be more favorable. He then dug in on the beach and began his wait. About 2130 hours he left his protected position, again exposing himself to enemy fire, to make another attempt at salvaging the stranded vehicle. As he neared the truck an enemy artillery shell struck an LCT moored nearby and the explosion killed Pvt Briody. His refusal to abandon valuable and much needed equipment, a gallant act which resulted in the loss of his own life, reflects the finest traditions of the service and merits highest praise.
~Cecil A. Fitzpatrick, 1st Lt, 18th Infantry.
BRIODY-Pvt. Francis P., Silver Star hero Normandy invasion, June 7, 1944, beloved son of Frank P. and Alice K., of 49 E. 19th Street, Brooklyn; dear brother of Richard; devoted grandson of Alice T. Kellam; nephew of Albert J. Kellam, Robert E. Griebe, and the late Ethel K. Griebe; Holy Innocents, St. Augustine High and St. John's University '43 graduate.
Pvt. Briody was awarded the following medals for his service:
Silver Star Medal
Purple Heart Medal
Bronze Star Medal
American Theater Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Medal with one Bronze Service Star for the Normandy Campaign and a Bronze Arrowhead for landing at Normandy, 6-7 June, 1944.
World War II Victory Medal
Distinguished Unit Badge
Combat Infantryman Badge
Sharpshooter Badge with Rifle Bar
Thanks to Silent One for sponsoring this memorial.
Gravesite Details
Military databases and posthumous documents give his date of death as June 7; however, the eyewitnesses and the original medical report indicate he was killed in the late night June 6, and not officially pronounced dead until the 7th
