adminAt 104 years old, Dominick Critelli took the ice at UBS Arena and played the Star-Spangled Banner on his saxophone with the steady hand and clear lungs of a man who has spent a lifetime defending freedom. The crowd fell silent, then erupted into chants of “USA” and gave the World War II veteran a standing ovation after he nailed the final, soaring notes on December 27, 2025.
Critelli’s performance was more than a feel-good moment; it was a living bridge to the generation that preserved our liberties at enormous cost. He spent 151 days in combat during World War II, survived the Battle of the Bulge, and risked his life flying behind enemy lines to deliver supplies to isolated American troops—facts that remind us what real sacrifice looks like.
France recognized Critelli’s service with its high honor, naming him a Knight of the Legion of Honor in 2024, a gracious nod from an allied nation that remembers who fought to liberate them. That transatlantic respect should shame anyone who treats veterans as an afterthought or who downgrades history for cheap political points.
An immigrant who arrived from Italy as a child, Critelli taught himself music at 13 and kept playing into his second century, earning a music degree and practicing daily out of love for country and comrades lost. He said plainly, “I love this country,” and dedicated his performance to the friends who never came home—words and actions that ought to heal the country’s frayed sense of gratitude.
Scenes like this at a puck game are a rebuke to the cultural elites who prefer to kneel to trends rather than stand for the flag and the people who defended it. Americans from every background unified for a simple, powerful moment of respect; the image of a 104-year-old veteran in an Islanders jersey with 104 on the back being cheered by 17,000 fans is the kind of patriotic Americanism the left pretends no longer exists.
If we are going to honor people like Dominick Critelli properly, it means more than applause and social-media likes: it means real support for veterans, an education system that teaches the sacrifice behind our freedom, and a national culture that once again prizes duty over comfort. Let every citizen who watched that saxophone sing take a moment to thank a veteran, vote for leaders who deliver on their promises to those who served, and teach the next generation why a standing ovation for the Flag still matters.
