Frank Perconte

Biography

Frank J. “Perco” Perconte (March 10, 1917 – October 24, 2013) was an American Army non-commissioned officer and World War II veteran. He served as a Technician Fourth Grade with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, and was one of the first soldiers assigned to the company. Born and raised in Joliet, Illinois, Perconte graduated from Joliet Central High School in 1935. During the Great Depression, he moved to Gary, Indiana, where he worked at a steel mill. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in August 1942 and volunteered for the airborne forces before joining Easy Company. Perconte parachuted into Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and participated in the Normandy campaign. He subsequently fought during Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands and the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium. During the assault on Foy in January 1945, he was wounded by a German sniper but later returned to the company. In April 1945, Perconte was among the Easy Company soldiers who discovered the Kaufering concentration camp near Landsberg, Germany, and reported the discovery to Major Richard Winters. After the war, Perconte returned to Joliet and worked as a postal employee. He remained involved with his fellow Easy Company veterans and contributed his recollections to Marcus Brotherton's 2009 book We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories from the Band of Brothers. He was also featured in accounts and interviews about the experiences of Easy Company veterans. Perconte's wartime experiences were featured in Stephen E. Ambrose's 1992 book Band of Brothers and its 2001 HBO miniseries adaptation, in which he was portrayed by James Madio. He died on October 24, 2013, in Joliet, Illinois, at the age of 96.