by Donald A. McCall/Rhode Island

“On December 7, 1941 my mother, father, brother and I were at my uncle’s home in East Freetown, MA on a pre Christmas visit. As our usual Sunday early evening family time we were listening to one of our favorite radio show programs when President Franklin D. Roosevelt interrupted the program to announce that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor and that we were now at war. I had turned 10 years of age in May of that year and the full impact of a war wasn’t fully understood at that time. It wasn’t very long afterward that the whole of America was in union with each other to get involved and take care of the situation.
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“We headed into the beach, it was still dark but then as we headed into the beach, all the ships start firing, it was one awesome sight. All of a sudden, bullets were hitting on the side of the ship and the water and I looked into the well of the boat and there was 35 soldiers in there and I don’t think there was an atheist in there because every one of them was making the sign of the cross as we were going in and I happened to look….I looked to the right and I seen a boat get hit…and that’s when I realized what we were going into. As I hit the beach, Wally Lawton lowered the ramp and the soldiers start pouring out and I seen them droppin’, I seen them getting shot, I seen their faces blown off, God, it’s a sight I’ll never forget, it’s been in my mind since. This is the first time I ever talked about it, I hope its my last…As they were going off, there was one soldier there who didn’t want to leave, I guess he froze, he seen what happened in front of him and we were instructed not to take anybody back unless they were wounded or dead. As I lifted up my arm to tell him to get off, I was shot over here and it came out my back.”
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“When we finally got over the shore, I looked down and saw the beach of France and I thought beautiful beach down there. Before it got very much further, maybe a minute, maybe five minutes, I don’t know, I started seeing flak coming up at the plane. It wasn’t very long after that that somebody said Stout has been hit. I got back there and put him on the bucket seat and laid him down. At that point somebody yelled at me, the green light is on Lt.. Now, I’d already had the boys half stand-up and hook-up because the red light had been on earlier and at that point I turned and hollered to the group Geronimo! Lets go! And I turned and went out.”
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Joseph B. Nadeau, Staff Writer 05/25/2006

WOONSOCKET — The bad memories of the early hours of D-Day will always be there. Nothing will ever change that for Richard D. Fazzio of 319 Mowry St.

But thanks to a visit back to Normandy this spring, Fazzio has a new outlook on his role in the Allied invasion of Nazi-held France 62 years ago.
Fazzio returned to Normandy as part of Providence film producer Tim Gray’s work on a project honoring Rhode Island veterans of the invasion, and will be on the big screen at the Stadium Theatre this Sunday when the hourlong documentary “D-Day +62; Rhode Island Veterans Return to Normandy” debuts. It will also air on WJAR-TV (Channel 10) in observance of this year’s anniversary of D-Day on June 6.

“It brought back a lot of what I went through, but I’m glad that I went,” Fazzio said about his participation in the new documentary.

Fazzio joined four other Rhode Island veterans of the invasion — Frank Chomka, 83, of Mendon Road, Cumberland; Wilson Delasanta, of New Clark Road, Cumberland; Leo Heroux, of Central Falls; and Chris Heisler, of Wakefield — in making the trip, and will be featured with several other Rhode Islanders with connections to D-Day in the completed project.
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