Early Life
Born in
Queens,
New York, to parents of
Sicilian ancestry, the young Francis Castiglione enlisted in the
United States Marine Corps, eventually rising to the rank of Captain. He married his wife,
Maria, who was already pregnant with their
first child prior to his enlistment.
Marine Corp
During his time in the USMC, Castiglione graduated from boot camp and then went on to United States Marine Corps School of Infantry. While still in training, Castiglione met Phan Bighawk, an American Indian scout. He was assigned to be Castiglione's guide, and through Phan, he learned how to survive in the wilderness.
Vietnam
Following his training, Castiglione served in the
Vietnam War in a Special Operations Unit as a point man. He fought in numerous engagements and was the only survivor (from both sides) of a Viet Cong assault on Valley Forge Firebase in 1971. For heroism in the line of duty, he was decorated with the Medal of Honor, the Navy Cross, 3 times the Silver Star and Bronze Stars, 4 times the Purple Heart, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. After finishing his second tour of duty in
Vietnam, he came back to the
United States and had a
second child with his wife. He then signed up for a third tour to which he illegally re-entered the U.S. Marine Corps under the name of Frank Castle in order to return to battle. Castle served a total of 4 years in the Vietnam War (1968 to 1971). Six years later (1976) after the American involvement in Vietnam ended, Castle ran Special Black op training missions for Marine Recon Commandos in the upper
New York State area.
Death of his Family
While on leave, he took his wife and two small children to
Central Park in
New York City. Coincidentally, the family happened upon the scene of a mob killing on the Sheep's Meadow green in the park. Fearing witnesses, the mobsters murdered Castle's family in cold blood and escaped. Castle managed to survive the attack but was deeply traumatized by the incident. He was going to testify in court to identify the shooters, but Castle was denied this since the
New York police department were deeply connected with the Mafia. He decided not to return to Marine duty.
Punisher
When mobsters slew his family, Frank Castle vowed to spend the rest of his life avenging them. Trained as a Marine and equipped with state-of-the-art weapons, he now wages a one-man war against crime as the Punisher.
The Punisher used his combat experience (four years as a U.S. Marine in a special operations unit in the Vietnam War), guerrilla warfare (combat assault attacks, assassinations, ambushes, hit and runs, bombings, using the enemies' own money, weapons, and supplies against them), urban warfare (using the crowded city of New York to blend in and disappear), psychological warfare (putting fear into the hearts of criminals), using detective-like skills (talking to people, reading obtained files on the people he goes after, tracking and surveying the enemy), always adapting to the enemy such as using the Mafia's own methods and tactics against them (interrogating and torturing suspects to death in order to get information from them) and whatever resources and means may be necessary to do so, ranging from light anti-tank weaponry to enraged polar bears, piranhas, and even a hydrogen bomb.
Present
After the events of Murder IV, Frank went on to join the Coalition. Later, however, he became a reserve member for the group, leaving to join Rin Tohsaka in her world. He left her, however, upon hearing that his daughter was participating in the war against Akibahara with the promise to return once he had seen her and ended the threat.