Gross, Frank Robert
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Verified Frank Robert Gross, a 25-year-old U.S. Army corporal from Oldsmar, Florida, was killed in a hostile incident in Kasay Kalay, Afghanistan, on July 16, 2011.
Their Story
Frank Robert Gross was a corporal in the United States Army, assigned to Troop C, 2nd Squadron, 38th Cavalry Regiment, 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, based at Fort Hood, Texas. He was from Oldsmar, Florida, and was 25 years old at the time of his deployment to Afghanistan.
On July 16, 2011, Gross was killed in Kasay Kalay, a village in the Zhari district of Kandahar province. According to U.S. military reports, his unit was engaged by enemy small arms fire during a dismounted patrol. He was one of two American soldiers killed in the incident.
Gross died during Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan that began in October 2001. In 2011, the war was in its tenth year, with U.S. and NATO forces heavily engaged in counterinsurgency operations in southern provinces like Kandahar, where Zhari district was a known Taliban stronghold.
The Department of Defense announced his death on July 18, 2011. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of corporal. His remains were returned to the United States, and he was buried with military honors.
Gross is memorialized on the Afghanistan War casualty lists and by veterans' organizations. His name appears on the 9/11 Memorial & Museum's 'Enduring Freedom' tribute, which honors those who died in the subsequent wars.
Explore Further
Frank Robert Gross was killed during Operation Enduring Freedom (2001–2014). The conflict concluded in December 2014. See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.
Among those documented in the same conflict: Andrews, Evander Earl, Edmunds, Jonn Joseph, Stonesifer, Kristofor Tif, Davis, Bryant Leroy.
