MSgt Eugene Gilleo was captured by the Germans on November 1, 1944 and held till May 14, 1945. He was taken to Buchenwald Prisoner of War Camp in the town of Weimer, East German, which was northeast of Frankfurt. He was kept there for six months during which he lost 100 pounds. He was branded in his forearm with a swastika and slashed with a bayonet during his interrogation in captivity. He continued to endure being tortured as he was hit in the face with a rifle butt and was hung with an old clothesline rope. Population of the prison at the highest number was 50,000. This camp was a center for supply for slave labor in war industries. Work at the camp was quarry and tunnel building for the underground factories. The work was hard with very little food. Over 63,500 prisoners were killed or died in captivity.

The first American contact was on April 11, 1945 by the 6th Armored Division, then the 4th Armored Division, and finally the 80th Infantry Division took over supervision. Generals Bradley, Marshall, and Eisenhower, also Senator Alvin Barkley on April 24, 1945, visited the camp.

He was sent to the 130th Evacuation Hospital near Frankfurt and then to Milan, Italy, and a hospital ship in the Pacific. He was shipped home in December 1945 and was discharged on January 31, 1946.

MSgt Eugene M Gilleo awards are as followed: 

Silver Star Medal for Valor Purple Heart Medal (2) Prisoner of War Medal Good Conduct Medal/2 Knots (3) Europe-Africa-Middle East Medal With 4 battle stars/ 1 arrowhead Asiatic Pacific Medal Victory Medal of World War II American Campaign Medal National Defense Service Medal Occupation Medal of World War II

Philippines Liberation Medal National Guard Medal Professional Development Ribbon Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon (2) Valorous Unit Citation Ribbon American Defense Medal Parachute Badge (5 Jumps/ 2 Combat Jumps) Sharpshooter Badge (Rifle, Sub-Machine Gun) Grenade and Flamethrower Attachments Rifle Marksman Badge

MSgt. Eugene M. Gilleo passed away on June 2, 1997.