A 102-year-old World War II veteran died on Friday while en route to France for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, according to several reports.
Robert “Al” Persichitti, of Fairport, New York, reportedly suffered a medical emergency and died in a hospital in Germany, a veterans organization said.
Persichitti, who served in the U.S. Navy, flew overseas with a group affiliated with the National World War II Museum. He was on a ship sailing down the coast to Normandy when he became ill and was airlifted to a hospital.
102-year-old WWII vet dies traveling to France for D-Day commemoration https://t.co/btTaeb2AAH pic.twitter.com/wug3OToWue
— New York Post (@nypost) June 6, 2024
The New York Post reported that his travel companion, Al DeCarlo, said that “He [Persichitti] was not alone, he was at peace and he was comfortable” when he passed away.
“She [the doctor] put his favorite singer, Frank Sinatra, on her phone and he peacefully left us,” DeCarlo added.
Persichitti had served in Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Guam as a radioman second class on the command ship U.S.S. Eldorado during WWII. He witnessed the raising of the U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima.
Before his travels, Persichitti told local outlet News 8 that he was “really excited to be going” to Normandy.
After WWII, Persichitti became a public school teacher in Rochester, New York. After his retirement, he would visit the school to talk to the students about the war. In April, students at Calkins Road Middle School in Pittsford helped to throw a birthday celebration for Persichitti.
“It was a privilege to know him, and I will miss him. He had a real zest for living,” Pastor William Leone, who was friends with Persichitti for four decades, said, per The Post.
“He would go visit children in the grammar schools in the area, talk with them about his experiences growing up, his experiences during the Second World War.”