Two World War II veterans from Western Pennsylvania will receive France's highest honor later this week.

William Alfonsi of Hermitage and Dominick Aluisia of New Castle will receive the Legion d'honneur on Friday, August 23, at the Mercer County Courthouse.

According to the release, 101-year-old Tech Sgt. William Alfonsi enlisted in 1942 and served with the 118th Signal Radio Intelligence Company in the U.S. Army. Before the D-Day invasion in June 1944, Alfonsi parachuted into occupied France and assisted French resistance forces by disrupting enemy operations.

Alfonsi was honorably discharged in December 1945.

Tech Sgt. Dominick Aluisia, 101, joined the U.S. Army in 1943 as a power generation technician with the Battery A, 231st AAA Searchlight Battalion.

Aluisia was deployed to Cherbourg in fall 1944 and his battalion was an important part of rebuilding and protecting the port using searchlights and radar. He was honorably discharged in March 1946.

According to the release, Brigadier General John Pippy, Director of Joint Headquarters, Pennsylvania National Guard will give the keynote address at the event.