Bronze Star with V device
Marine Corps
A station explosive ordnance disposal Marine received a Bronze Star Medal with Combat V here March 26 for his heroic achievement in Iraq.
Staff Sgt. Alexander Mazza earned the medal for actions with II Marine Expeditionary Force between March and September 2007.
In one operation, Mazza climbed into a dump truck, containing more than 2,200 pounds of ordnance in downtown Fallujah, Iraq. He chose to manually disarm it immediately because the threat could cause heavy casualties and damage to the area.
Seventy-five improvised explosive devices were rendered safe and 11,000 pounds of unexploded ordnance were disposed of during Mazza’s more than 50 missions per month in Iraq.
After receiving his award, Mazza, 26, put his fellow Marines who died during the war on terror before himself.
The Crestview, Fla., native placed his medal on the station’s EOD memorial, which displays the pictures of 19 EOD Marines from around the Corps who have been killed serving overseas since 2001.
“I am leaving this medal here because this is really about them,” said Mazza.
Although Mazza honored his fellow Marines, Headquarters & Headquarters Squadron commanding officer Lt. Col. Kenneth Woodard, spoke with pride for Mazza’s achievement.
“His ability to risk his life to defuse a complex situation and save many others makes him a true American hero,” said Woodard.
Mazza’s Bronze Star is the second awarded to a station EOD Marine this year. Chief Warrant Officer 4 Charles Whitlock, EOD officer in charge, received the medal Feb. 2 for his actions in Iraq during a 2006 deployment.
Arizona Daily StarA Marine who disarmed a huge truck bomb outside a bombmaking factory in Iraq last year has been awarded the Bronze Star medal.
Staff Sgt. Alexander Mazza was presented the medal Wednesday during a ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma. The explosive ordnance disposal technician went on more than 300 missions during his 6-month deployment to Iraq in 2007 and safely disarmed 75 improvised explosive devices and disposed of more than 11,000 pounds of unexploded ordnance and explosives.
