Lino Girone was one of Berlin High School’s first three sport participants. He was the first football team captain. On the basketball court he was one of the mainstays of the team finishing fifth in the Farmington Valley League. In baseball he was the first team captain and helped the team in leading the Farmington Valley League. Lino attended Arnold College in New Haven after graduation and according to Berlin High School Hall of Fame inductee Vic Baccaro, “was active in organizing youth sports in town on his own time and was a natural born leader.” He took an active role in the political and civic life of Berlin. In 1938 he was credited with creating the Kensington Fire Department and also was a Democratic candidate for State Representative from Berlin. Lino was one of the first youths from town to enlist in the Army in 1941 and in 1943 had just passed the exams into Officer Candidate School before being killed on August 16, 1943 on the New Georgia Island in the Battle for Munda fighting alongside fellow town resident Sgt Martin Masselle, being buried by his fellow soldiers at that site.