Joseph Lawrence Guarino
Joseph L. Guarino was born 5-Nov 1922 in St. Louis Mo. Joe was the first generation of his family born in the United Stated. The family had immigrated to the U.S. in 1916 from Italy.
His father was Vito Guarino (1895-1985) and his mother was Lena K. (nee Zinna) Guarino (1902-1991). Vito, though he had been in the United States for two years, served in the Army and was a veteran of World War I.
Joe had two brothers: James and Frank (1928-2025). Joe attended Soldan High School in St. Louis. James also served in the Army and in Italy as a medic. Joe later recalled, “As kids, we would sleep in nearby Forest park when it was hot and we went swimming at Westlake Park.” As a teenager, Joe delivered groceries on his bicycle, usually earning a nickel tip.
According to the 1940 Federal Census, Joe was 17, had completed two years of high school and was living with his parents at 5047 Enright Avenue in St. Louis in an upstairs apartment. He was a “Clerk” working for a Wholesale Electric Company.
Joseph L. Guarino was inducted into the Army on 30-Dec 1942. His serial number was 37407702. On his enlistment record, it states Joe attended and completed 3 years of high school. His active service started on 6-Jan 1943. It is likely Joe attended basic training at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis Mo. In 1942, basic training at Jefferson Barracks, which served as an Army Air Forces Replacement Training Center, was generally 8 to 13 weeks long, though it was highly variable due to urgent wartime needs. Early in the war, training was often standardized around 13 weeks but could be shorter depending on the need for rapid replacement.
After his basic training, Joe was assigned to the 459th Bomb Group (Heavy). The bomber assigned to the group was B-24 Liberator. Joe was assigned to MOS 911 Armorer.
His training nearly complete, Joe and his squadron settled in briefly at Westover Field, Massachusetts. There, the squadron participated in escort duty. Joe and his squadron were at Westover Field from 1-Nov 1943 to 2-Jan 1944. The ground crew departed Westover and the U.S. in early January 1944 and headed to the Mediterranean theater. They sailed aboard a Liberty Ship as part of a convoy. The squadron (ground crew) and its personnel debarked at Taranto, Italy, on 10-Feb 1944. They moved to their base by train to Giulia Airfield (near Cerignola), Italy, arriving 12-Feb 1944 and began to set up operations in Italy. Ground crews typically arrived by sea while and the air echelon would fly their planes, first to Florida, then Trinidad, Brazil, Africa and finally to Giulia Field in Cerignola, Italy. They would join about a dozen other similar airfields, each housing and basing about 2000 men.
In Italy, Joe served in the 759th Squadron, 459th Bomb Group, 304th Bomb Wing of the 15th Air Force. He was based at Giulia Airfield In 1944. Giulia was a busy, semi-permanent home to the 15th Air Force Base near Cerignola, Italy.
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