“The heroes are all dead”: 99-year-old Rhode Island veteran remembers the Normandy landings on D-Day

WOONSOCKET, R.I. (WPRI) — Richard Fazzio had just turned 19 when he piloted a Navy boat carrying soldiers ashore as part of the first wave of the D-Day invasion.

Eight decades later, Fazzio is still moved when he remembers the violent scenes he and his comrades witnessed on Omaha Beach on the morning of June 6, 1944. He himself was shot.

But Fazzio doesn’t like to talk about his experiences on D-Day – and the Woonsocket native doesn’t share the same opinion as those who call him a hero.

“The heroes are all dead,” said Fazzio. “I am a survivor.”

In the video above, Richard Fazzio speaks personally with 12 News reporter Ted Nesi about his experiences on D-Day and how it affected him.

More from the WPRI 12 archives

In this 1984 news footage from WPRI 12, D-Day invasion veterans from Rhode Island gathered for a dinner to mark the 40th anniversary of the Normandy landings.

In this 1984 news report, WPRI 12 reports on an event at the Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Exeter to mark the 40th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.

In this 2014 news story, WPRI 12 speaks with D-Day veteran John Tessitore of West Warwick about the 70th anniversary of the invasion. He died in 2016.

In this 2019 news story, WPRI 12 speaks with D-Day veteran Leo Andreoni of Providence about the 75th anniversary of the invasion. Andreoni died in 2023.