Friends and family remembered Joseph Borriello, a war hero and longtime city school principal, who died at home earlier this month at the age of 94. Borriello graduated from Meriden High School in 1942 and then served in the U.S. Army during World World II. He was a member of the 3rd Infantry Division, which fought longer in Europe than any other Army division and saw the most casualties, according to a Record-Journal story in 2011. 

Borriello’s grandson, Neil Picard, said his grandfather was a driving factor in his decision to join the service. Picard is a Marine veteran who served in Afghanistan. “I looked up a lot to him growing up, I still do,” Picard said. After the war, Borriello was a teacher at three city schools and principal of seven.