Howard H. Mayer was born on September 2, 1947, to Agustav and Carolyn Mayer. He had one brother, Joe, and two sisters, Joann and Terry. Howard graduated from Moorestown High School in 1965, where he was a basketball and baseball star.
In 1964, he was selected for the All Burlington County basketball team. He set the old county scoring record of 34 points, and was chosen the most valuable player in the 1963 Diamond Christmas Tournament.
Howard was also a two-year varsity pitcher for the school. In the spring of 1965, he pitched a shutout for eight innings, only to have Lenape High School score an unearned run in the ninth to defeat Moorestown, depriving the Quakers of the Burlington County League baseball championship. He pitched for Palmyra in the Riverfront League in 1965, compiling a 9 – 0 record, and defeating league champion Delanco three times.
Mayer left Moorestown to serve in the US Army in July 1967. He was assigned to Company E, 1st Battalion, 11th Infantry, 5th Infantry Division and attained the rank of Corporal (CPL). He was sent to Vietnam on July 23, 1968.
Mayer was killed in action on December 3, 1968, near the Demilitarized Zone in South Vietnam.
Mayer was awarded a Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
The 1965 Moorestown Graduating Class held a memorial service at Palmyra Moravian Church in Cinnaminson, NJ. A scholarship fund was established in his honor and is presented each year to a graduating senior from Moorestown High School.
Information provided by Jack Hall (friend) and NJVVMF, Photo from VVMF.
12/17/2024
