Mazelin, Lester J.

LESTER J. MAZELIN

TECHNICAL SERGEANT

U.S. ARMY

Lester J. Mazelin was born on December 4, 1918, in Monroe Indiana. His parents were David J. and Mary Mazelin. He was the only boy in his family and had four sisters. Lester was a resident of Monroe, Indiana. He joined the Army on June 30, 1941, and was sent overseas on April 29, 1942. Mazelin spent his time working in a factory at the Wayne Novelty plant located in Decatur before he was sent overseas. Before that, he had attended Monroe High School. Lester as a child also went to Sunday school at the Mennonite church. 

Upon his enlistment, he was assigned to the 34th Infantry Division and the 135th Infantry Regiment. He was part of the cannon company. His training took place at Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Camp Claiborne, Louisiana; Fort Barrancas, Florida; and Fort Dix, New Jersey. On April 29, 1942, Lester was sent overseas to Ireland. The 34th Division fought in both North Africa and Italy. The division was first sent to Ireland where they trained for battle. They then were sent to North Africa to help with the allied invasion. The 34th participated in the Battle of Tunisia in November 1942. The Battle of Tunisia was the first action the division had seen. They later were sent to Italy to fight and help with the efforts there. Lester J. Mazelin was killed in action on Saturday, July 15, 1944 near the Italian town of Castelnuevo. The 135th Infantry had just secured Rosignano, Italy and were moving to capture and secure Leghorn when they encountered Nazi SS. Securing the port of Leghorn would be crucial to future operations in Italy and the Southern coast of France. 

Mazelin's death was reported in the Decatur Daily Democrat on Monday July 31, 1944. The same day, Private Ralph Jauregui was officially reported as Killed in Action. He had been previously reported as Missing In Action that previous February. It was the first time two Adams County deaths were reported on the same day. As stated in a later article, Lester saw more action than most Adams County soldiers as he had participated in both the Italian and African campaigns. A friend of Lester named Max wrote home and explained what had happened to Lester and that a small group of men went ahead in order to find a new position. Once they had found a position, they informed the rest of the company to join them. As they waited three shells hit them and the bursts killed all six individuals. The blast had hit him in both the heart and the arm. As stated by Max, "Lester never knew what hit him". TSgt. Lester Mazelin is buried in the Florence American Cemetery in Italy. He is interred in Plot C Row 7 Grave 25 at the Florence American Cemetery in Toscana, Italy. 

For his service and sacrifice, TSgt. Mazelin earned the Purple Heart, American Defense Ribbon, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and the WWII Victory Medal. TSgt. Mazelin also earned the Combat Infantryman Badge for action in North Africa and Italy. 

Information collected and researched by Josh Brown, 2016.

SOURCES

             "History of the 34th Division." The Red Bull in WWII. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2016.

Indiana Historical Bureau, comp. Gold Star Honor Roll: Adams County. Bloomington: Indiana War History Commission, 1949. Print. Vol. 1 of Indiana in World War II.

MA, Patrick G. Skelly Pocasset. "34th Infantry Division Association." 34th Infantry Division Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Dec. 2016. http://www.34infdiv.org/.

"T. SGT. LESTER MAZELIN KILLED IN ITALY JULY 15." Berne Witness n.d.: n. pag. Print.

"TWO ADAMS COUNTY MEN KILLED, FORMER RESIDENT IS WOUNDED." Decatur Daily Democrat 31 July 1944: n. pag. Find A Grave. Web. 17 Dec. 2016.

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