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416th Bombardment Group (L) Sgt. Louis C. Mazza Airplane Mechanic - Gunner, 12204199 Killed In Action - Jun 6, 1944 671st Bombardment Squadron (L) |
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416th Bombardment Group (L) Sgt. Louis C. Mazza Airplane Mechanic - Gunner, 12204199 Killed In Action - Jun 6, 1944 671st Bombardment Squadron (L) |
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Born: 29-Mar-1924, New Jersey
Entered Military Service: Date: 9-Dec-1942 At: Newark, NJ From: Union County, New Jersey NARA Enlistment Record: Enlisted Serial # 12204199 Buried: Saint Mary's Church Cemetery, Plainfield, New Jersey On-line Memorials: National World War II Registry Find-A-Grave |
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Sgt Louis C. Mazza, serial number 12204199, served in the 416th Bomb Group during WWII. The 416th Bomb group was divided into four bomb squadrons. Mr. Mazza was a gunner who flew 10 missions in the 671 BS from May 19, 1944 until June 6th, the day his plane, 43-10164 was shot down. His pilot, Lt. Ronald Wipperman, was taken POW and the second gunner SSgt Henry S. Ahrens perished with the plane.
Sgt Mazza's mother, Maddalen, was notified by a Western Union telegram that her son was listed as MIA. At home in Westfield, New Jersey, she was anxiously awaiting word on her son's situation. Weeks of worry turned into months before she finally was able to track down the pilot Wipperman's family. She learned that the plane's left engine had caught fire after being hit by flak. Wipperman "Whip" tried to put out the flame by turning off the gas and diving, hoping to blow out the flame. The attempt was unsuccessful, the flame was growing. He was forced to radio back to his gunners Mazza and Ahrens to get prepared to parachute out of the failing plane. Lt. Wipperman pulled up vertically, leveling the plane, jettisoned the canopy and jumped, clearing the tail. Wipperman made it safely to the ground and was taken POW. The fate of the gunners was still unknown. After learning the good news that Lt. Wipperman was alive and in a POW camp, Mrs. Mazza had hopes that her son was also alive. On Dec. 16, 1944 she typed the following letter below to Brigadier General Samuel E. Anderson, commanding general of the 9th Air Force. The letter she wrote: Louis C. Mazza was not in a POW camp and was later determined to be deceased under Public Law 490 and designated "FOD" finding of death. Mrs. Mazza was sadly added to the Gold Star Mothers' list. Extracted from www.ww2buddies.com Sgt Louis C. Mazza - Airplane Gunner |
See also Sgt Louis C. Mazza Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF)
(FOIA request fulfilled by Government Information Specialist Bryan K. Jolly, Fort Knox, KY)
Disclaimer: IDPF files document efforts to locate, identify, move, notify relatives and provide final resting for Soldier Dead,
often months or years after death, thus some pages may contain potentially disturbing or distressing information.
If you are sensitive, please consider whether to read this or not.
Click Here for information on WWII IDPFs.
See also MACR 6047 and Mission # 68
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Source information can be viewed at WWII Military Service Fatalities Sources
