Robert Claude Maze Sr.

Robert Claude Maze (25 May 1918 – 27 May 1945) was an American military officer and aviator. He was killed in action during the Battle of Okinawa and was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Biography

Robert Claude Maze was born on 25 May 1918, in San Francisco, California. His parents were Albert Cressey Maze (1891–1943) and Miriam Jeannette Ham (1895–1997). Miriam married twice after her divorce from Albert Maze: first to Earl Winfield Spencer Jr., a pioneering United States Naval Aviator and the first husband of Wallis Simpson, and then to Arthur W. Radford, another U.S. Naval Aviator and the future Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In 1936, Maze enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles. He was a member of the rowing team, participated in university diving competitions, and was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. He was also a member of Scabbard and Blade and the Pershing Rifles and a cadet in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. He graduated in 1940 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. He lived in Oakland, California.

On 19 June 1940, he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. Among his comrades, he was known simply as "Bob".

On 10 January 1944, Maze became commander of Marine Fighting Squadron 511 (VMF-511), based at Marine Corps Outlying Field Oak Grove, North Carolina and established on 1 January of that year. After training at Simmons-Nott Airport, North Carolina, Boca Chica, Florida, Naval Air Station Quonset Point, Rhode Island, and Naval Auxiliary Air Station Manteo, North Carolina, the Purple Heart and the World War II Victory Medal. Secrest was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. The Distinguished Flying Cross was presented to Maze's widow, Rosemarie.