A 102-year-old American World War II veteran who witnessed the iconic raising of the U.S. flag at Iwo Jima died while traveling to France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
Robert Persichitti, who resided in Fairport, New York, experienced a medical emergency and died in a German hospital Friday, a veterans organization reported.
Mr. Persichitti, a Navy veteran, had flown overseas with a group associated with the National World War II Museum. He was on a ship sailing along the coast to Normandy in preparation for Thursday’s D-Day events when he suddenly fell ill and required an airlift to the hospital.
In his last moments, Mr. Persichitti listened to his favorite singer, Frank Sinatra, according to his friend and travel companion Al DeCarlo, who shared details with 13WHAM.
“The doctor was with him. He was not alone, he was at peace and he was comfortable,” Mr. DeCarlo said. “She put his favorite singer, Frank Sinatra, on her phone and he peacefully left us.”
During World War II, Mr. Persichitti served as a radioman second class on the command ship USS Eldorado. He was part of the U.S. troops who witnessed the raising of the American flag atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima on Feb. 19, 1945, a moment immortalized in one of the most famous photographs of the war.
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