Maynard Mathias Finzen
Sergeant Maynard M. Finzen served with HQ Company, First Battalion, 25th Marines.
He was killed in action at Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 328268
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by DPAA
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
March 12, 1917
in Lane, SD
Parents
Matthias Juergen Finzen
Esther Wilhelmina (Malmgren) Finzen
Education
St. James High School (1935)
Occupation & Employer
Truck driver
Purity Ice Cream & Dairy Company
Service Life
Entered Service
November 17, 1941
at Minneapolis, MN
Home Of Record
710 N Zeyn Street
Anaheim, CA
Next Of Kin
Wife, Mrs. Lois (Blakely) Finzen
Military Specialty
Small-arms Mechanic
(MOS 511)
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart (Iwo Jima)
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
In the invasion of Iwo Jima, the Fourth Marine Division was charged with landing on and securing the Yellow and Blue Beaches – the right of the Marine line, anchoring on the Quarry. Lieutenant Colonel Hollis Mustain’s First Battalion, 25th Marines would be first ashore on Beach Blue 1 and would move straight inland, providing cover for other units attacking Motoyama Airfield. Almost immediately, BLT 1-25 an into a “buzzsaw” of gunfire, suffering extremely heavy casualties as they struggled through the ash-like sand.
Sergeant Maynard M. Finzen, a veteran NCO with the battalion’s 81mm mortar platoon, was among those who fell during the initial assault. According to his Marine Corps casualty card, Finzen was “hit by shellfire,” and his remains were not recovered for burial.
Burial Information or Disposition
None; available records state “burial date and place unknown.”
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of wife, Mrs. Lois Finzen
Location Of Loss
Finzen was last seen in the vicinity of Beach Blue 1, Iwo Jima
