SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (WPRI) -- Saturday afternoon was a very special day for a 100-year-old D-Day veteran.

Richard Fazzio, a lifelong Woonsocket resident who piloted a Navy boat during the first wave of the D-Day invasion, received the Bob Dole World War II Leadership Award from U.S. Sen. Jack Reed.

"I think his heroism is only matched by his humility," Reed said.

The award is named after Dole, the late former U.S. Senate majority leader and 1996 presidential candidate who was severely injured in World War II. Reed presented the award on behalf of the World War II Foundation.

Fazzio was just 19 at the time when he led a boat of soldiers across the English Channel on June 6, 1944.

On the 80th anniversary of D-Day, Fazzio spoke with 12 News about how that experience has affected him. H

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