In German hospital
102-year-old D-Day veteran dies on way to memorial service
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There are not many veterans of D-Day 1944 left. Some of those still alive are still coming to France for the 80th anniversary commemoration. Former US soldier Robert Persichitti is also travelling to Europe – but he does not reach his destination.
A 102-year-old Marine veteran has died on his way to a memorial service marking the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy. Robert “Al” Persichitti of Fairport, New York, was airlifted to a hospital in Germany on May 30 after suffering a medical emergency on board a ship en route to Europe, the BBC reports. He died in a hospital there, said a longtime friend, the priest William Leone. “The Lord took him in Germany. He was on his way to France, but he didn't make it,” Leone said.
Another friend who traveled with Persichitti told WHAM in Rochester that a doctor was with the elderly ex-soldier in his final moments. She played music by his favorite singer, Frank Sinatra, “and he left us peacefully,” reported Al DeCarlo. Leone added to WHAM: “He had a real zest for life” and visited children in local schools to tell them about his experiences.
According to the local CBS News affiliate, Persichitti was selected by the National World War Two Museum in New Orleans to attend the event in Normandy. “I'm really looking forward to the trip,” Persichitti told WROC before leaving for Europe. His cardiologist gave him the go-ahead. The museum organized and paid for the trip.
Persichitti fought against the Imperial Army of Japan
Persichitti joined the Navy in 1942 and was deployed as a radio operator on the USS Eldorado. He is described as a “big, humble man” and was involved in the Allied operation in Japan alongside DeCarlo. He served at sea for 15 months, according to NBC. He and DeCarlo served together on Iwo Jima, a Japanese island that the US captured from the country's Imperial Army in 1945, the BBC reports. Persichitti was also deployed as a junior radio operator in Okinawa and Guam.
After the war, he settled in Rochester, New York, where he worked for 40 years as a shop teacher for the Rochester City School District, teaching students carpentry and other technical skills. He also joined Honor Flight Rochester, which flies veterans to memorials in Washington. Persichitti was inducted into the New York State Senate Veterans Hall of Fame in 2020.
