Frederick Joseph Carrino
Frederick Joseph Carrino was born in Berkeley, St. Louis County, Missouri, on 17-May 1932. His parents were Lawrence Dolly Carrino (1900-1981) and Mary Elizabeth Hall (1903-1941). He was one of seven children. He had four brothers: Lawrence, Francis, Philip and James and two sisters: Mary and Lois. All his siblings are now deceased. When he was a child, his family suffered a major loss when his mother died while birthing one of his siblings. His father took care of some of the children, but Frederick and other siblings were sent to a Catholic orphanage and foster homes in St. Louis. In 1940, according to the Federal Census, the family lived on Zev Avenue in Berkley Mo. Fred was 7 years old.
On June 3-June 1949, Frederick enlisted in the Army. Frederick was assigned to B Battery, 57th Field Artillery Battalion, 7th Infantry Division during the Korean War and fought in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.
After the battle, the military could not account for him and 48 other soldiers. On 6-Dec 1950, he was reported missing in action. The Army could not verify if he was a prisoner of war, so he was declared dead on 31-Dec 1953. Later it was determined Frederick was killed in action on 6-Dec 1950, in the vicinity of Hagaru-ri, North Korea. The Army declared his remains unrecoverable.
Frederick Carrino was 18 years old when he died.
In late 1956, remains were shipped from North Korea to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. Frederick Carrino was officially an unknown soldier in a grave marked X-15880 in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His remains were identified on 10-Oct 2024.
His name is permanently inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for. His name is also inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, which was updated in 2022 to include the names of the fallen.
Corporal Frederick Carrino returned to his hometown of St. Louis. His remains were flown home in May 2025 from Hawaii. He lay in state for the public to pay their respects on Thursday, May 15, 2025, from 2:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Shepard Funeral Chapel, 9255 Natural Bridge Road. A funeral service will be held the following morning, Friday, May 16, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. also at Shepard, where CPL Carrino will be posthumously awarded his service decorations, including a Purple Heart. Following the funeral service, CPL Carrino was buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery with full military honors.
Corporal Frederick Joseph Carrino was awarded the following medals and commendations:
- Purple Heart
- The National Defense Service Medal
- The Korean Service Medal
- The United Nations Service Medal
- The Korean Presidential Unit Citation
- Republic of Korea Korean War Service Medal
- Army Good Conduct Medal
