Lawrence Nicholas "Larry" Guarino (April 16, 1922 – August 18, 2014) was a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

officer, and veteran of three wars.Hubbell, John G. ''P.O.W.: A Definitive History of the American Prisoner-of-War Experience in Vietnam, 1964-1973'' (New York: Reader's Digest Press), p. 50. Shot down on his 50th combat mission, he spent more than eight years as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

(POW) during the Vietnam War and earned the Air Force Cross. As a POW at

Hỏa Lò Prison Hỏa Lò Prison (, Nhà tù Hỏa Lò; french: Prison Hỏa Lò) was a prison in Hanoi originally used by the French colonists in Indochina for political prisoners, and later by North Vietnam for U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. ...

(the "Hanoi Hilton"), he shared a cell with

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

, the future

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

United States

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nominee for president in the

2008 United States election The 2008 United States elections were held on November 4. Democratic Senator Barack Obama of Illinois won the presidential election, by defeating his challenger, Senator John McCain and the Democrats bolstered their majority in both Houses of Co ...

. Guarino wrote ''A P.O.W.'s Story: 2801 Days in Hanoi'' about his experiences in captivity. Guarino flew the

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. His last duty station was

Patrick Air Force Base Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name *Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick or ...

and he retired to

Satellite Beach Satellite Beach is a coastal city in Brevard County, Florida, U.S. The population was 11,346 at the 2020 United States Census, and it is located with the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Indian River to the west. Satellite Beach is part of t ...

and

Indian Harbour Beach Indian Harbour Beach is a coastal city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 8,225 at the 2010 United States Census. It is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne– Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is nort ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, after leaving the Air Force. He died on August 18, 2014.

Awards and decorations

Lawrence Guarino's ribbons as they appeared at retirement: COMMAND PILOT WINGS

Command Pilot Badge

Air Force Cross citation

:Colonel Lawrence Nicholas Guarino :U.S. Air Force :Date Of Action: May 11, 1968 – September 22, 1969

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guarino, Lawrence N. 1922 births 2014 deaths United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War People from Satellite Beach, Florida Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Silver Star United States Air Force colonels Vietnam War prisoners of war People from Indian Harbour Beach, Florida

Awards and decorations

Air Force Cross citation

See also

References