Public Relations - In The News

Movie recounts Rhode Island veterans' experiences on D-Day
May 29, 2006

WOONSOCKET, R.I. --A new movie examines the D-Day invasion through the eyes of six Rhode Island veterans who returned to the beaches of Normandy in March.

The film by Tim Gray, a former WJAR-TV sports reporter, drew more than 200 veterans and their friends and families to a weekend premiere in Woonsocket.

Wilson Delasanta, a Cumberland veteran featured in the film, told The Providence Journal he avoided talking about the Allied invasion of France for decades because it brought up painful memories.

"The less I talk about it, the better it is," said Delasanta, who brought his wife and a half dozen relatives to the showing.

The movie also includes Richard Fazzio of Woonsocket, a former Navy officer who piloted a boat onto Omaha Beach in the first attack on D-Day. He broke down in tears when he told the story for the first time, a moment Gray's crew caught on camera.

"I'm not too proud to have everyone see me cry," Fazzio said before Sunday's premiere.

Many World War II veterans are reluctant to talk about their experiences, Gray said. But with more than 1,500 of them dying each day, the ones that remain understand it's important to tell their stories, he said.

"Many of them have been humble for so long," Gray said. "Now that they are dealing with their own mortality, they can understand what they did on a world scale."

Retired Army Master Sgt. Julian Mitchell, who was not in the film but attended the premiere, recently began speaking at schools about his tours of duty in Africa, Italy and southern France. He said he hopes other veterans share their stories, as well.

"In every war story, parts are humorous, parts are tragic," he said. "But each carries on to younger generations how horrible war can be."