ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A local World War II Navy veteran was laid to rest on Tuesday. The funeral for Robert “Al” Persichitti, a Fairport native who died at age 102, was held at St. Jerome’s Church in East Rochester.

Persichitti was on a ship heading to Normandy last month to mark 80 years since D-Day. On the ship, he started to get sick, was flown to a hospital in Germany, and later died.

News10NBC’s Berkeley Brean spoke with Persichitti’s guardian about his legacy. Persichitti was a sailor on the USS Eldorado, the command ship for the invasion of Iwo Jima. He watched the marines raise the flag on Mount Suribachi, twice. In 2019, when he was 97, he returned to the island.

After the war, he was a carpenter and taught at Edison Tech. He would return to schools his entire life, telling stories about heroes in the war and the lessons learned.