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Patrick Farino
  • Company G, 182nd Infantry Regiment, circa 1939. Pat Farino is in the back row, fifth from the right. Source: National Guard of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1939: Historical and Pictorial Review.
  • Patrick Farino in the fall of 1941, on maneuvers with the 182nd Infantry in the Carolinas. Source: Patrick Farino Collection.
  • National Guard veteran Patrick Farino poses in the 1941 Company G unit photo taken at Camp Edwards ( second row, second from the right). Source: Edward Monahan Collection.
  • Pat Farino poses with a visiting starlet in the South Pacific. Source: Patrick Farino Collection.
  • Patrick Farino and Inky Simmons constructed a sturdy shack in the Company G camp area on Bougainville, using scavenged materials. In this photo, Simmons leans on the shack, at left. The man at far right appears to be Jack Morton. Source: Patrick Farino Collection.
  • Pat Farino poses with a camera in this undated photograph Source: Patrick Farino Collection.

Patrick Farino, from Woburn, MA, was one of the rare soldiers who served in the 182nd as a National Guardsman for several years before Pearl Harbor (he enlisted in 1938), but sill saw significant, long-term action during the war. In Photo #1, taken in 1939, he can be seen in the back row, fifth from the right. Photo #2 was taken in South Carolina, during Company G’s participation in the massive war games in the fall of 1941. Photo #3 is cropped from the 1941 unit photo,  second row, second from the right.

Farino served in the 2nd Platoon, and is credited with coming up with the nickname “Roy’s Raiders.” He served as the company’s photographer, both official and unofficial. He developed photos in his tent, filling his helmet with solution to produce prints. He charged soldiers a dollar a print for this service. During the battle for Hill 260, Farino was wounded in the initial Japanese assault on the hill. At some point during the fighting, he lost his pack, which included his precious camera. After the hill was recaptured, he found his camera, safely tucked away in a Japanese foxhole.

In August 1944, several young film stars visited Bougainville for a USO show. Farino bet his friends in Company G $10 that he could get his photo taken with one of them. He won the bet. Photo #4 is one of several photos of Farino posing with starlets in the South Pacific. Farino and Howard “Inky” Simmons constructed a sturdy shack in the Company G camp area on Bougainville, using scavenged materials. Farino designed a double roof to help mitigate the heat from the intense tropical sun. Photo #5, Simmons leans on the shack, at left. The man at far right appears to be Jack Morton.

Farino served a total of 26 years in the military, retiring as a First Sergeant. In addition to World War II, he also served in Korea. He retired prior to fighting in Vietnam, not wanting to press his luck. Photography remained an important part of his life (see Photo #6), and he owned a studio back home in Massachusetts for many years. He retired to Florida, and passed away in 2013.