Lynn native gets Bronze Star for bravery in Iraq

LYNN – U.S. Army Sgt. First Class Raymond Mazola Jr., a Lynn native and former Swampscott resident, has been awarded the Bronze Star for bravery under fire in Iraq.The soldier’s grandfather, former Swampscott service station owner Ernie Mazola of Lynn, plans to attend a promotion ceremony at Ft. Benning in Georgia later this spring when the hero receives his third stripe and becomes a master sergeant.”They want me to pin the stripes on him,” the elder Mazola said Thursday. “I’m very proud of him.”Mazola, 35, grew up in East Lynn and later moved to Saugus and Swampscott where he attended the local elementary and middle schools. He eventually relocated to Hollywood, Fla. where he graduated from high school, attended community college in Ft. Lauderdale and enlisted in the Army.During the course of his military career, Mazola has served in Macedonia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. “I’ll be going back for my second tour in Iraq,” he said.The Bronze Star was awarded for meritorious service as a platoon sergeant from March 14, 2007 to June 11, 2008 during Operation Iraqi Freedom V. Mazola was a member of Able Company, Third Infantry Division, Third Brigade, part of the Second Combined Arms Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment, Sledgehammer Heavy Brigade Combat Team.While a platoon sergeant at Forward Operating Base Kalsu, Mazola led over 200 mounted and 100 dismounted combat patrols. These operations included intelligence gathering, searching for weapons caches, and capturing so-called high-value targets. Mazola was responsible for uncovering one of the largest weapons caches found since the Iraq war began. He also reacted to 22 attacks involving improvised explosive devices (IEDs).According to Mazola’s commanding officers, the sergeant “demonstrated remarkable judgment and control while taking incoming SAF (small arms fire) and IDF (rocket attacks) on two separate occasions. Mazola was able to call for effective counter fire and direct air assets to eliminate the enemy threat. His actions saved the lives of soldiers and Iraqi citizens.”As the soldier modestly explained, SAF means people are shooting at you, while IDF denotes the sky is raining rockets.In an email received Thursday evening by the Item, Mazola modestly stated that “the award really isn’t a big deal especially with the amount of soldiers who do this stuff everyday. I couldn’t have done anything over there without the soldiers in my platoon,” and requested that, “if you could, add in a thanks to everyone who has done their part over there.”Mazola and his wife, Suzanne, have two children – a 4-year-old son, Morgan, and 8-year-old daughter, Madeline. The family lives in Georgia.