PFC John Maruscok
Still MIA on the field of honor, his Purple Heart is home
PFC John Maruscok was born in Italy. When he was just a toddler, his father was killed in WWI. His mother would remarry, and her new husband had a huge scar on the back of his head from a saber wound received in WWI.
Together, they would eventually emigrate to America with their six new children.
PFC Maruscok was naturalized as an American citizen in 1940 when he was 24 years old.
In 1942 he enlisted for service in Cleveland and served in the 48th Infantry Battalion, 7th Armored Division as a Light Machine Gunner.
He was declared Missing in Action on 08 September 1944 after witnesses saw a mortar fall near him, but in the chaos of battle were unable to retrieve his body.
As you might imagine, his mother’s grief was profound having lost her first love to war, and then their only child to another war.
Fortunately, her other two sons who were serving did come home. Nevertheless, she was never the same again.
Fast forward many decades.
Two years ago, PFC Maruscok’s niece Susan was in Luxembourg American Cemetery and was totally surprised when her Uncle’s name jumped off at her from the Tablets of the Missing. Because the family’s name had been spelled and re-spelled over the years, and even though Susan’s father was John’s brother, their surnames were spelled differently.
But Susan said: ‘I just knew’.
She made it her mission to learn more about her Uncle, and dug through papers to find proof that her Uncle John was memorialized in Luxembourg. She has since spent time learning more about him.
Then one day out of the blue, we called.
As of today, PFC Maruscok is still Missing in Action ... but his Purple Heart found it’s way back home.
Watch the story HERE.
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