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Pioneer, Gene Tapia

{nl}          It was September 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee where Gene Tapia's wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy named Larry Eugene. But before Gene or his wife could lay eyes on their newborn Son, Larry was stolen by Georgia Tann's baby theft ring that worked at the hospital in Memphis. After that, Gene and his wife returned to Mobile, Alabama and decided to enlist in the United States Marine Corps in June of 1943. He served with the Third Marine Division in Guadalcanal, the first-day invasion of Guam, and spent over 35 days on Iwo Jima.     But in 1948, Tapia returned to the Gulf Coast and began racing. He never knew that he would be a Pioneer at Five Flags Speedway.

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