211719 Sgt. Francis Rice United States Army from:Burlington Township, NJ Frank Rice was one of 6 brothers who fought in WW2. "He was in Italy during the war, and they gave him susage and wine," his wife Gloria says. "That's why he married an Italian girl." Brother Charles died of flu at age 4. Harry had flat feet and was turned down for the service. But the six other Rice boys went to war. "We were fighting for our freedom," Frank says.
George, who went by his middle name, Ramsey, was the first to go. "Ram was drafted into the Army 10 months before Pearl Harbor," Frank says.
Joe joined the Navy, Al was drafted into the Army, Tom joined the Army Air Corps, and Frank was drafted into the Army. Bill was 31 in 1945 when he enlisted in the Navy.
"The Rices had six stars in the window," Gloria says, referring to the service flag, also called a "Blue Star Flag," issued to families of those in uniform.
The flag can be seen in a snapshot of Katherine Rice, apron around her waist and with a big smile, in the doorway of the house at 1633 S. Etting St. "My sister Elizabeth sewed on a sixth star for Bill," says Frank.
Gus didn't live long enough to welcome his boys home; he died in 1944. And his youngest almost didn't make it back after a too-close encounter with a stray German mortar shell in Monte Cassino.
It happened on the morning of Jan. 27, 1944, at the beginning of an epic battle for control of the hilltop and its famous abbey. Pvt. Rice, 19, was advancing up the hill with fellow members of Company A, Third Platoon, 168th Regiment, 34th Division "when I heard this swish in the air," he recalls.
"I started to hit the ground and something in my head said turn, so I sort of turned in the opposite direction. The thing exploded before I was down. I think I blacked out for a couple seconds.
"When I opened my eyes, I was on my hands and knees. I looked down and there were drops of blood hitting the ground. I yelled for a medic."
The explosion had driven a pea-size piece of metal deep into his right leg just above the knee; he also was wounded in his upper right side. The impact crater was where his head would have been had he not turned around.
"Someone upstairs was looking out for me," says Frank, who was awarded the Purple Heart.
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