Days before he left on a flight to Europe to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, Robert Persichitti climbed a flight of stairs at the East Rochester Memorial Day parade, faced a crowd of veterans like himself, and led them in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

The American flag held significant meaning to him.

Decades earlier, Persichitti was serving as a U.S. Navy radio operator aboard the U.S.S. Eldorado sailing near Japan, when he peered through a set of binoculars and witnessed the now-iconic scene of six Marines hoisting the American flag atop a pile of rubble during the Battle of Iwo Jima.

The image stayed with Persichitti and, even at 102 years old, the Fairport man remained steadfast in his commitment to honoring the triumphs and losses veterans have faced.

Persichitti died last week while traveling to France for a ceremony to commemorate the pivotal Allied forces invasion known as D-Day, according to Richard Stewart, president of Honor Flight Rochester.

Stewart said Persichitti flew to Europe and joined other veterans on a ship sailing toward Normandy, when he suffered a medical emergency on May 30 and had to be airlifted to a military hospital in Germany, where he later died.

“There is a sadness to him passing,” Stewart said. “There’s an inevitability around Honor Flight where we see an awful lot of people that are on the older side now. But he lived right. He made a world around him that was supportive … and he was nice right back. Bob did it right.”

Robert Persichitti, WWII veteran, dies at 102

Persichitti was born in a coal mining town in Pittsburgh in 1922, Stewart said. He was raised in the era of the Great Depression, which likely contributed to his humble personality and strong work ethic.

Growing up, the closest high school was 20 miles away and required a $4 per month bus pass. On the months his family couldn’t afford the fee, Persichitti would hitchhike to school instead, Stewart said.

After graduation, Persichitti joined the U.S. Navy and went to radio school in New York City to learn Morse code. He was later assigned as a radio operator aboard the Eldorado, which sailed near Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Guam. Following the war, Persichitti worked as a school teacher in the Rochester City School District.

Stewart said he spent the rest of his life celebrating veterans. When Honor Flight opened a chapter in Rochester in 2008, Persichitti was eager to join. He was able to organize different benefit events for veterans in a way that seemed effortless, Stewart said.

“He was so easily infectious,” he said.

Persichitti was able to take his own honor flight to tour the war memorials in Washington D.C. in 2013. A photograph captures him with a World War II veteran hat, one arm raised in a crisp salute.

Ever since, Stewart said Persichitti made sure he was at the airport to welcome other veterans home from their trip. He was there in April and again in May.

“We were just so certain he’d be there for Father’s Day when we have another welcome home in June,” Stewart said. “We’re all going to miss Bob a lot.”

— Kayla Canne reports on community justice and safety efforts for the Democrat and Chronicle. Follow her on Twitter @kaylacanne and @bykaylacanne on Instagram. Get in touch at kcanne@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Robert Persichitti dies on way to D-Day ceremony in France