George Edward Guinan was born May 18, 1916 in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Charles Thomas and Marion Elisabeth (Friel) Guinan. In 1920 the family lived on E. 38th Street in Brooklyn. George had three siblings: sister Marion born around 1909, older brother James F., born 1914, and younger brother Robert A. born about 1920. Their father Charles supported the family as a hatter.
By 1925 the family had moved to 1665 E. 37th Street, where they would stay through 1940. Charles began working for the Sanitation Department, working his way up through management, and the children worked a variety of careers. Marion was a clerk, bookkeeper and telephone operator, James a telephone messenger, then a fireman, George a stock clerk for a paint factory, and Robert a package collector for a department store.
On October 16, 1940 George registered for the draft. He gave his address as 1025 E. 36th Street, Brooklyn. He was employed by E. I. Dupont De Nemours at 4014 First Avenue in Brooklyn. He was described as 5' 11" tall, weighed 172 pounds, with grey eyes, brown hair, light complexion, and a "scar on right wrist."
George joined the Marine Corps three months into World War II, on March 9, 1942. His father Charles Guinan died at the end of February 1943, and his obituary in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on March 1, 1943 mentions sons "PFC George Guinan USMC, and Pvt. Robert Guinan." George was discharged on April 6, 1946, roughly a year after the end of World War II. He re-enlisted when the Korean War began, on May 14, 1951, and was discharged on October 30, 1952 as a Master Sergeant in the USMC.
George's mother Marion Guinan died on July 1, 1959. His sister Marion died April 9, 1968 in St. Petersburg, Florida, and brother James on August 11, 1978 in Orlando, Florida.
George's last residence was in Far Rockaway, Queens.
George Edward Guinan died on November 2, 1980. He was first buried December 16, 1980 on Hart Island. He did not remain there, but now rests in Calverton National Cemetery, section 13, site 6488, among his fellow veterans.
Sources: Ancestry.com; US Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014; NY, NY, US Birth Index, 1910-1965; 1920, 1930, 1940 US Federal Censuses; US, WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947; NY, US, State Census, 1925; Newspapers.com-Brooklyn Daily Eagle; US, Dept. of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010; US, Veterans Gravesites, ca. 1775-2019.