Birth date: Aug 24, 1922 Death date: Jul 16, 2020
Lester Lawrence Hollenback 97 of Deltona passed away July 16, 2020. He was born August 24, 1922 in Macomb, Illinois to Earl & Janie Hollenback. Lester is preceded in death by his parents, and his wife Betty Mae DeWeese Hollenback Read Obituary
I am sorry to read of your loss. I always looked forward to seeing, hearing and watching Lester as he demonstrated or tutored us in various blacksmithing skills he had so perfectly mastered. I would see him at Barberville or sometimes at the Ft. Christmas “Crackerday” Festivities. For us he was a major attraction and we really enjoyed his presence. I still use an anvil I bought from him at Ft. Christmas.
Lester and I served with Merrill's Marauders in Burma during WWII. We were both in the 2 BN-Green Combat Team. Without Lester and the other muleskinners we would have never survived our mission behind Japanese lines for four months. Those 10 days at Nphum Ga surrounded by the Japanese were tough. We had many wounded and killed on that mountain but we made it because we were well trained and worked as a team.
I finally got to meet Lester in New Orleans in August 2018 at our last reunion. We were able to talk about our experiences in Burma.
I wish that Lester could still be with us when we finally get the Congressional Gold Medal for our unit from Congress. There are only eight of us left out of the original 3,000 men. We will carry on and finish our mission to get the medal just like we did in Burma. Lester and all the other Marauders, living and dead, will be with us in spirit. We all volunteered for that mission in 1943. We did it for our country. Duty, Honor, Country.
God Bless You Lester.
Ret. MSGT Gilbert H. Howland- 5307th CUP
