PHOTOS: Lexington Resident Goes West for USS San Diego Commissioning

His ship never lost a man, and the only time enemy fire connected was during a potato fight. Those, plus the occasional stealing of Spam, are among the anecdotes Lexington resident Paul Mazerall shares about his time on the USS San Diego during WWII. 

Fresh off a visit to the West Coast, where he and his family traveled for the commissioning of the lastest incarnation of the USS San Diego, Mazerall, now 88, spoke fondly of the memories and friends made about the second most decorated US ship of WWII. 

Mazerall and some of the men he served alongside about the anti-aircraft cruiser in the Pacific Theatre were invited by the Navy out to California for the commissioning of the .

"Oh it was great," said Mazerall after returning home. "People stopped us on the street and saluted us, and thanked us for our services. It's the only time I was saluted by an officer."

There aren't so many of them left anymore, but Mazerall said he remained tight with his former shipmates by staying in touch and attending reunions. Though he also served on the USS Vicksburg, it's the San Diego that he identifies with most.

"They were the greatest people you'd ever want to run into," Mazerall said. "We had a great crew, I'll tell ya, a happy-go-lucky crew. We were all so friendly and got along with each other."

Mazerall, who worked for the Town of Lexington for 40 years before retiring as the tree warden in 1988, grew up in Dorchester and followed his brothers into the Navy. "They never made it overseas, and I used to ride them for it," he said.

According to Mazerall, he had only two weeks of training before the San Diego shipped up to Boston to pick up the boys. "A to L went on the Vincennes, from M on went to the San Diego," recalled Mazerall. "That's when I first realized zomeone was watching over me."

If he was fortunate getting on the San Diego, then luck struck again when he got off the ship. Mazerall had a 30 day respite between the San Diego and Vicksburg, and it was during that month that he met Charlotte, his wife.

While his wartime memories do include sinking the Hornet and a gun turret melting because it had fired so many rounds in such a short period of time, what Mazerall remembers most are the better times about the vessel. Like stealing and stowing Spam to snack on (he hasn't eaten the suff since), and when the guys would get riled up after drinking torpedo juice or Aqua Velva.

And then there was the time they tied up with the San Juan for a show by Artie Shaw and his band.

"We got so pissed off the band was on the other ship that we started a potato fight," Mazerall remembered with a laugh. "We made everything a joke, but it was all business during the war."