Patric Mazza
03 Jan 1918-22 Sep 2013Purple Heart Recipient and Prisoner of War: Patric Mazza, of World War II and Prisoner of War and long time Vero Beach, Florida resident died peacefully at home on September 22, 2013. He was born on January 3, 1918, the son of John and Mary (Oliver) Mazza, in Houston, Pennsylvania.
At age 26, then Staff Sgt Mazza, landed at Utah Beach, crossed France and Germany before being injured and captured near Aachen, Germany. After five months in a POW camp, female Russian tank drivers freed the prisoners. Tired, hungry and dirty, wearing the same clothes that he was wearing when captured, and relying on the kindness of strangers, he and his fellow soldiers made their way to a military base in Odessa, Russia and eventually home. He received the Purple Heart.
He came to Vero Beach in 1952 and owned the Tahitian Lounge and Rose Garden Tea Room before working at the Ocean Grill for 20 years. He married Sally Irwin in 1960.
(Posted on Find-A-Grave)
