Ed Zilli, who is 100 years old today, is a veteran of World War II and a former Suffolk County, New York, police captain. He resides in Minot. Submitted Photo

Warren G. Harding was U.S. president when Ed Zilli was born on Feb. 8, 1923, in New Jersey. Eighteen men have served as U.S. presidents since the Minot man’s birth 100 years ago today.

A decorated World War II veteran and a retired Suffolk County, New York, police force captain, Zilli has lived in Minot for a number of years.

He is among few living veterans of the World War II D-Day Invasion in 1944.

Zilli was a member of the 4th Infantry Division of General Patton’s Third Army when he and thousands of other men landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, for what was the largest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare. More than 150,000 soldiers from the United States, United Kingdom and Canada stormed the Normandy beaches to push the Nazis out of western Europe.

Zilli landed on Utah Beach, one of the five beaches or landing sectors of the Normandy invasion. All of the beaches or sectors were code-named. Utah, the westernmost beach was added to the invasion plans at the 11th hour so the Allies would be in striking distance of the port city of Cherboug, France, according to historical accounts.

Zilli recalls when they left England “there were so many boats” and it didn’t take long to cross the English Channel to arrive at Normandy.

When they arrived, he said, “All hell broke loose.” They pushed forward, moving back and forth, he said.

After leaving the Normandy area and crossing France, Zilli said they “went like crazy” across Germany.

He and the other soldiers were in many battles, including the Battle of the Bulge, as they made their way across Europe.

He said they had gone all the way through Germany and were in Czechoslovakia when the war ended in 1945.

Zilli was presented five battle stars, including one for the Normandy Invasion.

After the war he was out of the Army for a time but re-enlisted and returned to Germany. In total, he served 10 years in the Army.

He got out of the Army and he and his wife, Margarhetta, whom he met at Colberg, Germany, moved to New York. He had spent most of his early years in New York. He joined the Suffolk County police force for 25 years, retiring with the rank of captain.

He and his wife lived in Florida for a time before moving about 14 years ago to Minot, where their daughter and son-in-law, Margie and Ted Bolton, reside. His wife died in 2008.

In 2019, Zilli was among four World War II veterans who were honored with a flight over the city of Minot in a C-53 during the Dakota Territory Air Museum’s special event to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

He has had other honorings, including a handmade quilt presented to him by the Quilts of Valor Foundation volunteers in North Dakota in 2020 to thank him for his “sacrifice and service to protect and defend the United States of America.”

Zilli is one of “The Greatest Generation.”