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STAFF SERGEANT JOHN
BELL LARZELERE was born in 1918 to Charles W. and Goldie Larzelere. His
father was a clerk at a leather works, and in 1920 and 1930 the family
owned a home at 1204 Elm Street in Haddon Township NJ. Known to family
as Jack, he was a 1936 graduate of Collingswood (NJ) High School. He
enlisted in the Army on October 8, 1937. Once he had enlisted in the
Army, he never had a furlough that took him back to New Jersey,
preferring to spend his leave time in Hawaii. He was a talented
cartoonist, and amused his comrades with his drawings when he sailed
over to Hawaii from the mainland on the SS Republic. He studied aircraft
engines for four years, and served as an instructor. By the summer of
1941 he was the head non-commissioned officer of the maintenance section
of a Bomber Squadron at Wheeler Field in Hawaii. Prior to his death he
was sent to Hickam Field on Hawaii to serve again as an instructor.
John Larzalere was
killed in a motorcycle accident on the night of August 5, 1941. To avoid
hitting a pedestrian, he turned his motorcycle into a curb, was thrown,
and died. Services were held for him August 14, 1941 at the Wheeler
Field Chapel, in Hawaii, with Chaplain Alvin A. Katt in charge of the
ceremony.
His body was returned to New Jersey, and he was buried on August 27,
1944 at Colestown Cemetery
in Delaware Township (present-day Cherry Hill) NJ.
John Larzelere was
survived by his parents, brother Charles W. Larzlelere Jr., and sister
Elizabeth.
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