This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Shane Laemmel, MR3
to remember
Mazza, Harold Ralph, CDR.
If you knew or served with this Sailor and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Contact Info
Home Town Petaluma, CA
Last Address 2878 Hillside Dr Burlingame, CA
Date of Passing Jun 24, 1956
Location of Interment Golden Gate National Cemetery (VA) - San Bruno, California
Wall/Plot Coordinates R 75-A
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
Oakland Tribune
25 Jun 1956, page 5
H. R. Mazza, Navy Hero, Dies
One of the most decorated of World War II Navy fliers, credited with torpedoing two Japanese aircraft carriers, the battleship Yamato and a cruiser is dead today at the age of 43.
He is Commander Harold R. Mazza, who died in his Burlingame home last night, apparently of a heart attack.
Mazza's exploits won him four Navy Crosses, a Distinguished Flying Cross and four Air Medals.
Mazza is survived by his wife, Elaine; his mother, Mrs. Elvira Mazza of Petaluma and a brother Elmer Mazza, also of Petaluma
WAS ON LEXINGTON
The Navy pilot entered flight training at Pensacola in 1939, was commissioned in 1940 and served on the carrier USS Lexington from the opening of the war until the carrier sank in the Coral Sea. He was stationed in Florida as operational instructor until 1944 and trained
torpedo pilots in the Hawaiian area. He then took command of the fighter squadron on the carrier USS Bataan and participated in the campaign and strikes [line completely obliterated] As a dive bomber and fighter pilot he also took part in air strikes on Tokyo, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Kobe and Kure. Towards the end of the war, Mazza was engaged in dropping relief bundles to POW camps in the Tokyo area and patrolled Tokyo Bay by air during the surrender ceremonies.
PETALUMA NATIVE
A native of Petaluma, Mazza was graduated from the University of San Francisco in 1934 and was quarterback on the varsity teams of 1932 and 1933. He entered the Navy as a reservist, first training at the Oakland Airport and later transferring to Pensacola.
In 1946, Mazza took part in the atomic tests at Bikini. His latest post was that of assistant to the Naval Reserve Co-ordinator for Air on Treasure Island.
Other Comments:
Navy Cross
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Ensign Harold Ralph Mazza, United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Torpedo Plane in Torpedo Squadron TWO (VT-2), attached to the U.S.S. LEXINGTON (CV-2), in action against enemy Japanese forces over enemy-controlled waters near Lae and Salamaua, New Guinea on 10 March 1942. Ensign Mazza participated in a vigorous and determined dive-bombing attack, in the face of heavy anti-aircraft fire, on enemy ships, and as a result of this attack at least one ship was sunk. His outstanding courage, daring airmanship and determined skill were at all times inspiring and in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. Action Date: 10-Mar-42 Service: Naval Reserve Rank: Ensign Company: Torpedo Squadron 2 (VT-2) Division: U.S.S. Lexington (CV-2)
Navy Cross
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting a Gold Star in lieu of a Second Award of the Navy Cross to Ensign Harold Ralph Mazza, United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Torpedo Plane in Torpedo Squadron TWO (VT-2), attached to the U.S.S. LEXINGTON (CV-2), in action against enemy Japanese forces on 8 May 1942, in the Air Battle of the Coral Sea. In spite of heavy anti-aircraft fire and concerted enemy fighter opposition, Ensign Mazza closed to within a few hundred yards of the target to execute a fearless and determined attack. Scoring a hit on an enemy aircraft carrier, he thereby contributed to the severe damage and probable destruction of the vessel and aided materially in the success of the operation. His outstanding courage and determined skill were at all times inspiring and in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 308 (November 1942) Action Date: 8-May-42 Service: Naval Reserve Rank: Ensign Company: Torpedo Squadron 2 (VT-2) Division: U.S.S. Lexington (CV-2)
Navy Cross
(Citation Needed) - SYNOPSIS: Ensign Harold Ralph Mazza, United States Naval Reserve, was awarded a Second Gold Star in lieu of a Third Award of the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Torpedo Plane in Torpedo Squadron FORTY-SEVEN (VT-47), attached to the U.S.S. BATAAN (CVL-29), in action on 7 April 1945, while deployed over the East China Sea. His outstanding courage and determined skill were at all times inspiring and in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. Action Date: 7-Apr-45 Service: Naval Reserve Rank: Ensign Company: Torpedo Squadron 47 (VT-47) Regiment: Air Group 47 (AG-47) Division: U.S.S. Bataan (CVL-29)
Navy Cross
(Citation Needed) - SYNOPSIS: Ensign Harold Ralph Mazza, United States Naval Reserve, was awarded a Third Gold Star in lieu of a Fourth Award of the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Torpedo Plane and Commanding Officer of Torpedo Squadron FORTY-SEVEN (VT-47), attached to the U.S.S. BATAAN (CVL-29), in action on 28 July 1945, while attached to the U.S.S. BATAAN (CVL-29), and deployed over Kure, Japan. His outstanding courage and determined skill were at all times inspiring and in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. Action Date: 28-Jul-45 Service: Naval Reserve Rank: Ensign Company: Torpedo Squadron 47 (VT-47) Division: U.S.S. Bataan (CVL-29)
Central Pacific Campaign (1941-43)/Battle of Midway
From Month/Year
June / 1942
To Month/Year
June / 1942
Description The Battle of Midway in the Pacific Theater of Operations was one of the most important naval battles of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, only six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea, the United States Navy (USN), under Admirals Chester W. Nimitz, Frank Jack Fletcher, and Raymond A. Spruance decisively defeated an attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), under Admirals Isoroku Yamamoto, Chuichi Nagumo, and Nobutake Kondo on Midway Atoll, inflicting irreparable damage on the Japanese fleet. Military historian John Keegan called it "the most stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval warfare." It was Japan's first naval defeat since the Battle of Shimonoseki Straits in 1863.
The Japanese operation, like the earlier attack on Pearl Harbor, sought to eliminate the United States as a strategic power in the Pacific, thereby giving Japan a free hand in establishing its Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. The Japanese hoped that another demoralizing defeat would force the U.S. to capitulate in the Pacific War and thus ensure Japanese dominance in the Pacific.
The Japanese plan was to lure the United States' aircraft carriers into a trap. The Japanese also intended to occupy Midway as part of an overall plan to extend their defensive perimeter in response to the Doolittle air raid on Tokyo. This operation was also considered preparatory for further attacks against Fiji, Samoa, and Hawaii itself.
The plan was handicapped by faulty Japanese assumptions of the American reaction and poor initial dispositions.Most significantly, American codebreakers were able to determine the date and location of the attack, enabling the forewarned U.S. Navy to set up an ambush of its own. Four Japanese aircraft carriers—Akagi, Kaga, Soryu and Hiryu, all part of the six-carrier force that had attacked Pearl Harbor six months earlier—and a heavy cruiser were sunk at a cost of one American aircraft carrier and a destroyer. After Midway and the exhausting attrition of the Solomon Islands campaign, Japan's shipbuilding and pilot training programs were unable to keep pace in replacing their losses, while the U.S. steadily increased its output in both areas.
