Larry Pizzino
U.S. Army 1956 – 1959
This week’s Veteran of the Week is Larry Pizzino, who served in the U.S. Army from 1956 to 1959. Larry discovered early in life that the road to success isn’t always a straight line; sometimes, it requires a detour through the discipline of military service to find one’s True North.
Now a resident of Montgomery County, Texas, Larry’s story began on March 17, 1939, in the lakeside community of Port Washington, Wisconsin. Growing up on the streets of Milwaukee within a hardworking Italian-Polish family, Larry was a young man of action rather than academics. Long before he wore the uniform, he was a fixture on city street corners, hollering out to customers, selling the daily newspaper to passersby. He also worked at the local bowling alley, earning quarter dollar tips the bowlers would slide down the alley at the end of their games, where Larry worked hidden in the dark pin-pits and behind the pin setting machines.
However, the restlessness of youth led him to leave high school early—a decision that might have sidelined others, but for Larry, it was the catalyst for a life-changing transformation. In 1956, at the age of just 17, Larry walked into a recruitment office in Milwaukee and traded his civilian clothes for Army greens.
“I was so young and immature when I joined,” Larry reflects. “The military really did change my life for the better. I grew up quickly.”
His journey took him from the familiar streets of Milwaukee to the rugged training grounds of Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. After mastering the rigors of infantry and communications training, Private Pizzino was deployed to Schwabach, Germany. In the shadow of the Cold War, he served as a frontline infantryman before his professionalism earned him a spot on the permanent staff at Grafenwoehr.
The Grafenwöhr Training Area (GTA) served as the premier live-fire and maneuver hub for the U.S. Army and NATO forces in Europe. In February 1958, the site was redesignated as the Seventh Army Training Center, which hosted rotational units for rigorous winter maneuvers, including Pvt. Elvis Presley, who trained there for six weeks in late 1958. It was here that Larry’s performance caught the eye of his superiors, leading to his assignment as the personal driver for the Base Commander. This role demanded Larry straighten up and fly right. Getting himself squared away became his priority and he learned valuable lessons in responsibility, reliability, and being accountable for one’s actions.
When he transitioned back to civilian life in 1959 as a Private First Class-E3, Larry was no longer the aimless teenager who had left Milwaukee. He returned with a GED in hand and a newfound sense of order. “The Army gave me discipline,” he says with a smile. “I learned that you’d better make your bed first thing every morning.”
That military-grade discipline became his “secret sauce” in the workforce. While he initially thought he might spend his life on a standard assembly line at an auto plant, his military background gave him the command presence needed to rise through the ranks. He soon joined United Parcel Service (UPS), where he spent 27 dedicated years. His work ethic eventually prompted UPS management to move Larry and his family from the snowy Midwest to the heat of Houston, a transition Larry embraced wholeheartedly. Larry was eventually promoted to a senior HR management position. In this role he provided leadership and managerial administration to UPS offices and dealt frequently with unionized workers.
Today, Larry’s passion for machinery and history has manifested in a way that would make any museum envious. An avid collector of Americana, he has spent his retirement curating a massive collection of antiques. His Montgomery County home is a tribute to a bygone era, featuring everything from vintage Coke bottles and gumball machines to antique glass globe gasoline pumps and diecast cars.
The crown jewels of his collection, however, are his vehicles. Larry maintains an incredible collection of more than 70 immaculate and fully functional automobiles dating back as far as 1919. Among the showroom-quality fleet sit a vintage limousine, an old fire engine, and two Army jeeps—a nod to the three years of service that turned a “newsie” into a leader.
As we honor Larry Pizzino for his military service, we celebrate a man who has proven that it’s never too late to finish your education, and that the lessons learned in a motor pool for the U.S. Army in Germany can bring about a successful American life for decades to come. Good luck Larry and thank you for your service! Congratulations on being MCN’s Veteran of the Week.