Seventy years after the end of World War II, Daniel DeFrancisco, 89, has received another medal to pin on his chest.
DeFrancisco and 33 other WWII veterans from around the country lined the front of the officer’s club at the West Point Military Academy Friday to be honored for their service in France during the war. Two more medals were given to the families of soldiers who have passed away.
The veterans were decorated as knights of France’s Legion of Honor during the ceremony, at which the consul general of France presented each man with an insignia to honor his role in liberating France from Nazi German occupation.
On Saturday, members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Van Rensselaer-Skidmore Post 2476 in Riverhead congratulated DeFrancisco on the honor at the post’s monthly membership meeting.
DeFrancisco recalled landing on the shore of Utah Beach in France on June 6, 1944 — D-Day.
“I wasn’t thinking anything,” DeFrancisco said. “We’re just gonna go. You weren’t thinking about who’s gonna shoot me.” (For more information and an interview with DeFrancisco, see the Veterans Day story, “Amost 70 years later, Riverhead veteran’s WWII memories are still vivid and painful.“)
A Brooklyn native, DeFrancisco moved to Riverhead in 1971.
DeFrancisco said he was happy to hear the news that he would be honored by France for his role in the war. There was a ceremony set in NYC for Nov. 8. But he had no way to get there. Traveling alone was out of the question. The bus ride into Manhattan and walk through the city streets would be too much.
Fellow VFW member and Vietnam veteran Joe Edler stepped up, volunteering to take him to upstate West Point for the ceremony on Friday.
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