A World War II veteran in Sun City celebrated his 96th birthday quietly on Friday, January 8. Marking another milestone, Fritz Mazur would have celebrated surrounded by family and friends. But Fritz and his wife, Tina, have sequestered themselves in their home in Sun City during the coronavirus pandemic, so the annual birthday celebration was a small gathering of three. Fritz’s daughter, Cheryl Garrigan joined her parents for the event.
Garrigan said, “We received a number of phone calls from family and friends wishing Dad a happy birthday. My dad is the oldest of 10. Not all of them are still around to celebrate, but my aunts and uncles called to which their older brother ‘happy birthday.’”
Fritz has an impressive history. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on the day he turned 18, January 8 1943 in Niagara Falls, New York.
Fritz said, “I was shipped down to boot camp for a month and then I was sent to the Pacific, to Guadalcanal to prepare for the invasion on Japan on April 1, 1945 on Easter Sunday.”
On that day, the Navy’s Fifth Fleet and more than 180,000 U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps troops descended on the Pacific island of Okinawa for a final push towards Japan. By the time American troops landed on Okinawa, the war on the European front was nearing its end. In the Pacific theater, however, American forces were still painstakingly conquering Japan’s home islands.
Fritz said, “We didn’t invade Japan because we dropped atomic bombs. I was sent to China after Japan surrendered. I worked on their water purification system.”
50,000 U.S. Marines were sent to North China to assist Chinese Nationalists. This was in addition to approximately 60,000 U.S. forces remaining in China at the end of World War II.
“I came back home to Niagara Falls in February of 1946. I married Tina in 1948, but my service to our country was not over,” Fritz said. “I was reactivated in 1950 during the Korean War. I was pulled out of formation one day and sent to Jacksonville Florida as an instructor. Being in the Marine Corps you don’t get to choose what you want to do; they just tell you.”
In the early 1950s, Naval Air Technical Training Center (NATTC) Jacksonville was also reactivated and included nine different schools.
“I taught aviation engineering. I was there for one and half years and my son, Dan was born in Jacksonville during that assignment. I returned to Niagara Falls and worked there until I retired,” Fritz said.
Eventually, the couple chose to relocate.
Fritz said, “We wanted to move somewhere warmer. We traveled quite a bit and we liked Arizona. There was a lot to see and do and the weather was great. But we wanted to be close to our kids and grandchildren, and they were here in Illinois, except for my son who is an attorney in Washington D.C.” Fritz said.
Tina said, “We have been married for 73 years, have two children, five grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.”
What was their favorite trip?
Fritz said, “For Tina’s eightieth birthday we went to Costa Rica and we went ziplining. That was quite exciting. We also loved River Boat tours.”
Fritz’s endurance seems inexhaustible. Recently, Fritz broke his leg. He needed surgery during the pandemic and has been progressing well in his recovery.
Garrigan said, “My dad is a tough old sport. He likes to tell the story how in the cold winters of Niagara Falls he walked up hill both ways to school.”
Fritz’s strength is genuine.
“I would do it all again for my country,” he said.
