WWII Veteran To Celebrate 96th Birthday At LI Aviation Museum

FARMINGDALE, NY — Salvatore Citrano, a Farmingdale resident and World War II veteran, is set to celebrate his 96th birthday on Thursday.

Citrano, who served in the Navy, is slated to take a personal tour of the American Airpower Museum in Farmingdale on Saturday, according to a news release. The tour was arranged by State Senator Kevin Thomas (D—Garden City), who, the prior year, awarded Citrano the NYS Liberty Medal.

Citrano enlisted in the Navy in 1943, shortly after he graduated high school. As a Navy radioman first class, he took part in the invasions of Okinawa in the Pacific and Normandy in Europe. Citrano was responsible for decoding radio messages about enemy positions and reporting the intelligence to his commanders. He received five medals during his time in Asia and Europe in WWII: Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, European Campaign Medal for Normandy Invasion; Navy Occupation Service Medal; American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.

Citrano, after his military career, worked for Grumman, Republic Aviation and Fairchild Republic. He was a foreman on the line for the F-105 and retired as a technical writer and field service representative for Fairchild Republic’s A-10 "Warthog," according to the museum.

The museum's Hangar 3 headquarters was once part of Fairchild Republic. Thomas and the museum offered Citrano a personal tour of the museum's A-10 as a 96th birthday gift.

"Needless to say, Sal can’t wait to get his hands on AAM’s Warthog!" the museum wrote in its release.

Thomas plans to escort Citrano to meet Jeff Clyman, founder and president of the American Airpower Museum, at 1 p.m. Saturday. Clyman is set to present a Certificate of Appreciation to Citrano. Later, Citrano will get to climb up a specially-built stairway to get a good look at the Warthog's cockpit — the jet he wrote the manual for. Citrano, his family and friends will then enjoy a private party and birthday cake.

The public is invited to watch the presentation by Clyman, though they will need to purchase an admission ticket for the museum. The museum's hours are 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Hangar 3, Republic Airport, 1230 New Highway, Farmingdale. Prices are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and veterans and $8 for children.