102-Year-Old World War II Veteran Dies En Route to D-day Commemorations in Europe and Is Mourned

102-Year-Old World War II Veteran Dies En Route to D-day Commemorations in Europe and Is Mourned
This undated photo shows World War II Navy veteran Robert "Al" Persichitti, of Fairport, New York. Courtesy of The National WWII Museum via AP
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A World War II Navy veteran was being mourned Thursday following his death while en route to France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, a trip friends said he'd talked excitedly about making.

Robert “Al” Persichitti of Fairport, New York fell ill during a stop in Germany last week and died in a hospital, his longtime priest and friend, the Rev. William Leone, said. Mr. Persichitti was 102.