Some students in Coney Island got a history lesson from a pair of World War II veterans Thursday.
"They should know how we feel. I know they are happy," said 102-year-old Cosimo Venneri. "We feel that we accomplished something and we can relate to them."
Venneri and 90-year-old Frank Damico visited I.S. 303.
The Navy veterans, who served in the South Pacific, were invited to speak at a special assembly in their honor after the school's eight graders began learning about the war.
"I wanted to be in the service. It was part of us to be in the service, to help our country," Damico said. "That's the way it was those days."
"You get to see what they say and what's from their perspective and not from a textbook." One student said.
The men were also given a citation of appreciation from Assembly Member Pamela Harris.