WW2 Fallen - Harold Marzolf and the 12 year old who revered him + world famous actor

Cpl. Harold Marzolf served in the 83rd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion and died in Normandy.
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=14425330
http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/184183-allied-forces-living-history-association/ 

Harold Marzolf never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on August 6, 1917 in Illinois. His parents were also both born in Illinois. His grandparents were all German speaking immigrants, one from Austria, and three from Germany. His father worked as a farmer. Harold had an older brother and sister. By 1940 Harold had completed four years of high school and was living at home, working on the family farm.

He enlisted in the army on January 23, 1942. He became a TEC5 in Company D, 83rd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. After training in Louisiana and elsewhere the 83rd ARB was sent to England, It was sent in to reinforce the battle for Normandy and first saw action on July 7, 1944.

On morning on July 29, 1944 Cpl. Marzolf's company had taken Coquerel Bridge near Montpincheeon, a strategic high ground the Americans wanted to control. Cpl. Marzolf was part of a forward patrol later that day that was ambushed by the Germans. His body was discovered by a 12 year old French boy, Jacques Petit, who moved to Canada after the war. 

When Petit retired, he felt compelled to find out who the dead soldier was. It took two years to determine the man was Cpl. Marzolf. Sixty years to the day after Marzolf's death, Mr. Petit visited Cpl. Marzolf's grave and laid a wreath in his honor. Petit also arranged for a memorial plaque to be placed at the location were Cpl. Marzolf was killed. The dedication ceremony was attended by local WW2 vets and school children.

Regarding the ceremony Petit said, "It was very important that the school children should attend. It was important that the values of courage and generosity be exulted and kept alive. We don't think you should forget these things. Freedom doesn't come cheap. Without the landing of Normandy, the place would still have had Germans decades later."

Cpl. Marzolf's grave is at the Nauvoo City Cemetery in Illinois.

Thank you Harold for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Harold.

Robert Mitchum, WW2 Vet

Born on the same day as Harold Marzolf was tough guy actor Robert Mitchum. His father died when Mitchum was less than two years old. She married a former Royal Navy officer. Mitchum was a young troublemaker, getting into fights with other boys. His mom sent him to live with relatives at age 12, but it wasn't too long before Mitchum was traveling across the country by jumping railcars, working odd jobs along the way. By 1936 he made his way to California where he  acted in local theater and eventually bit parts in movies. He had no interest in volunteering for the military and he was not drafted until 1944. He got better and better movie parts including a small roll in Thirty Seconds over Tokyo. In 1944 he made The Story of G.I. Joe where he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.

The actor Robert Mitchum was in the movies "30 Seconds Over Tokyo"
and "The Story of G.I. Joe" before he joined the army.
https://www.pinterest.com/cindylee58/men-super-hot-men/?lp=true
http://laurasmiscmusings.blogspot.com/2012/10/tonights-movie-thirty-seconds-over.html
http://www.themoviescene.co.uk/reviews/story-of-gi-joe/story-of-gi-joe.html

He was drafted into the army and began his service on April 12, 1945. He never went overseas and was released six months later.

Mitchum went on to become of the Hollywood's best known leading men.

The lost contributions of the 400,000 plus Americans who never came home to make the movies Americans love to watch will ever remain unknown.

On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!

To mark having over 100,000 visits to my project to honor the fallen of WW2 on their 100th birthdate, I created this video to share. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY

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