Larry served in Viet Nam with the U. S. Army in 1966 and 1967. He was Platoon Sergeant and NCOIC of the Aircraft Tech Supply responsible for the maintenance, repair parts and Agent Orange for 177 Huey helicopters. He also pulled infantry chores at times when the enemy attacked their perimeter defenses. He says they were under constant mortar attack about six days out of seven because the enemy was trying desperately to disable the choppers. Larry made the Army a career and retired in 1983 as a SFC (E-7).

Larry was originally from Charlotte, NC before moving to Hialeah. He says: "I had a '56 Chevy convertible that I bought in 1959. Within three months I had it scalloped, pin-striped and the name "Night/Hawk" on the fender skirts. It was black with blue and white interior. I won a few car shows with it too. Also did some racing at Amelia Earhart field. Don Garlits was one of the regulars. Vernon Jones and Demitri were personal friends of mine. (if you ever heard of them) Oh yeah, the Chevy had a factory "Power Pack" (4-barrel carb) and was a rare factory stick shift. It had the V-8 engine which I think was a 263ci."