LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Onofrio “No-No” Zicari, a World War II veteran and the last-known D-Day participant residing in Las Vegas, has passed away at the age of 102, as announced by the City of Las Vegas.
Storming Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944, was a memory he didn’t like to discuss.
“It was a war, period,” Zicari said. “I don’t like to talk about it, but I’m here.”
Those were his words when 8 News Now spoke with him last year as he prepared to return to the site for the anniversary of D-Day.
Zicari was hailed as a national treasure, providing a direct connection to an era when young men, some as young as 21, shouldered immense responsibilities in the battle against Nazi-occupied France. He began his service at 19, having been drafted into the war.
In 2021, he received the Purple Heart in recognition of an injury he sustained when landing at Omaha Beach. Despite the wound, Zicari continued to fight, and it wasn’t until seventy years later that the honor was bestowed upon him.
“During the landing, a shard of shrapnel lodged in my knee,” Zicari recounted. This injury could have ended his military service, yet he persisted in his duty even with an infection. Official records did not initially note the wound.
“I said, nah, I’ll stay with my outfit,” Zicari said. He continued on, fighting at the Battle of the Bulge.
While Zicari was modest about his role, simply stating, “I was just a foot soldier, that’s all,” he kept a collection of photographs at his home, proudly identifying fellow soldiers in the images.
On social media, the City of Las Vegas expressed their condolences with this message on Friday: “We mourn the passing of 102-year-old Onofrio “No-No” Zicari, a local man who served in the D-Day invasion during World War II and was awarded the Purple Heart. As one of the last of the Greatest Generation, No-No leaves behind a legacy filled with courage and dedication to safeguarding our nation and its freedoms.”
In late 2021, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman and an Army representative presented Zicari with the Purple Heart and also named him October’s Citizen of the Month.
The father of six said it was his children who pushed him to pursue the medal. “They felt like I deserved it,” he told 8 News Now in an interview.
He recounted his past as a first-generation American, working as a shoemaker and then as a milkman. Woodworking became a hobby when he moved his family to Las Vegas, and he continued with it at least into his late 90s.
“I kept at it. Kept me out of the casinos,” he said.
Zicari told 8 News Now he had brothers in the Air Force and the Navy.
In a social media post on X, Las Vegas City Councilwoman Francis Allen-Palenske, said, “I am heartbroken to share that my dear friend, Private First Class Onofrio “No No” Zicari, has passed away. Earlier this year I was lucky enough to celebrate him when he received France’s highest honor for his bravery on D-Day. To me, he was more than a hero. He was a friend.”
