Local infantryman died in WWII assault on Italy’s Monte Adone
BOLOGNA, Italy — Franklin James Dukes was a local husband and father who joined the Army a year after his wedding and sacrificed his life during the Fifth Army’s assault outside of Bologna, Italy in April 1945. He was born Nov. 8, 1919 at Marsteller, Cambria County, to English immigrants James Fullard and Sarah Ann Birchall Dukes. His mother and father entered the United States in 1887 and 1888, respectively, and became naturalized American citizens. Dukes was the youngest of the couple’s seven children: Anna, Arthur, Lawrence, Edna, Florence Mae and Mary Elizabeth. Dukes’ father ...