Even at 104, Dominick Critelli is hitting all the high notes.
The Floral Park super-senior saxophonist and World War II Army veteran will be performing the national anthem for the Islanders vs. Rangers game at UBS Arena on Saturday, marking yet another lifetime achievement.
“I love this country,” Critelli, who immigrated from a humble upbringing in Calabria as a little boy, told The Post. “If I hadn’t come to this country, I’d be stuck with Mussolini.”
Critelli, who says a nightly half-glass of wine has led to his centenarian status, was recently knighted by French President Emmanuel Macron for helping liberate the nation.
It came decades after surviving both the Normandy landings and the Battle of the Bulge.
“He pins a medal on me, kisses me on both cheeks,” Critelli recalled, “and I ask, ‘If I’m a knight, where’s my sword and horse?’ ”
The talented jazz player Critelli — he was 86 when Isles rookie sensation Matthew Schaefer was born — earned a music degree at NYU before returning to Europe to fight the Axis powers.
While eager to play for what’s sure to be a sellout crowd, this won’t be his biggest audience.
That came while freeing the Netherlands of Nazi rule, when the staff sergeant performed atop a rolling tank to masses of ecstatic citizens.
“I guess, it must have been 50,000, 60,000 people,” Critelli said.
“It’s amazing, I’ve gone through so much.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
