100-year-old WWII vet honored at Veterans Day event at Arcadia Catholic school
At the conclusion of its Veterans Day event at Holy Angels School in Arcadia, hundreds of students stood up, American flags clutched in their hands, and sang “God Bless America.”
Partway through the song, someone handed a flag to Joe “Peppy” Sciarra, a World War II veteran invited to the ceremony, who went ahead and waved the flag and sang along himself, a smile plastered on his face.
Such is the joyful life now of Sciarra, a 100-year-old veteran — soon to turn 101 in December — who still helps as an usher at Holy Angels Church during Sunday Mass. The centenarian, dressed in a crisp green suit and red, white, and blue socks during the Nov. 10 event, has had plenty to be happy and grateful about.