Family members had often wondered why their father would watch so many war movies. Louis Sanfilippo had a simple explanation: He might be in them.

Mr. Sanfilippo voluntarily joined the Army in 1944 and headed oversees to fight in World War II. He served under fabled Gen. George Patton in the Battle of the Bulge.

Mr. Sanfilippo, 83, of Plum, and formerly of Penn Hills, died last Thursday.

"I always asked why he was watching these war movies, they were so depressing. But he always said he might be in it. He was real proud of that," said Cheryl DiDiano, of Ligonier, his oldest daughter.

Mr. Sanfilippo lived long enough to see the completion of the World War II memorial at the National Mall. Fourteen months ago, he and other veterans of that conflict from the Pittsburgh area made the trip to Washington, D.C.

In a Post-Gazette article written in May 2007, Mr. Sanfilippo was quoted while recounting the words of Gen. Patton.

"Get the bayonet; put it in the German; spin it around."

Mr. Sanfilippo was a howitzer gunner when he landed at Normandy, but was transferred to the infantry when heavy losses imperiled the Army during the Battle of the Bulge.

He was with Gen. Patton when the 3rd Army made its charge to relieve the 101st Airborne Division in Bastogne, Belgium.

"We went across France so fast it wasn't funny," Mr. Sanfilippo said. "We cut behind a battalion of SS. Wiped 'em all out."

He was later wounded and was awarded a Purple Heart. A daughter of a fellow World War II veteran who knew Mr. Sanfilippo wrote an autobiography about him and his war experience when he was 50.

He was quoted in his autobiography saying how he enlisted in the Army against his family's wishes.

"They didn't want me to go, but I did it anyway."

"We were all waiting to go. Everybody knew there was going to be [an invasion], but we didn't know where or when. We were preparing to join Patton's army in Ireland."

Mrs. DiDiano said: "He had been around the world in the war and it was an honor to him.

"He was a real sharp thinker and he always said fighting for your country is one thing you never forget."

Growing up during the Depression in Uptown Pittsburgh, Mr. Sanfilippo dropped out of Forbes School after sixth grade to help his father. He taught himself bricklaying and stone masonry and was a contractor for 55 years.

He helped to build homes and chimneys around Penn Hills, Plum and Monroeville and did a lot of work for his family.

Mr. Sanfilippo also was an animal lover. His dogs, Dudley and Bailey, were by his side at the hospital.

"I think those dogs kept him living longer," Mrs. DiDiano said.

"He wanted to help them live the longest they could. His animals really kept him together. He was real compassionate about his animals."

In addition to Mrs. DiDiano, Mr. Sanfilippo is survived by his wife of 43 years, Marlene (Martini); another daughter, Louise, of Plum, and a son, Joseph, of Plum.

He was preceded in death by a son, Louis Sanfilippo Jr.

A mass was celebrated at St. Susanna Church, Stotler Road in Penn Hills.