Felice John Tulli, 96, named after his paternal grandfather but known as John, was born Feb. 3, 1924 to Italian immigrant parents. He was raised in Harlem with his brothers, Ed, Hugo, Danny and his sister, Ida, now all deceased.

Tulli never completed high school and as the story goes he lied about his age in order to enlist in the US Army during World War II as a way to be closer to his brother, Danny.