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Denny Albright was born in Akron, Ohio on November 26, 1954. His Parents are Ron and Fern. His father was a World War II veteran. He has six sisters and two brothers. Their names were Beverly, Eileen, Linda,
Mary, Kathleen, Renee, Larry, and Jim.
He grew up in Rootstown, Ohio and went to grade school and
high school there. He was a very good student and enjoyed school. He enjoyed
playing baseball, football, wrestling, and swimming everyday in the
summer. He has a very funny sense of
humor and is very entertaining at family gatherings.
Denny enlisted into the Navy in
1974 when he was 18 years old during the Vietnam era. He enlisted because he didn’t want to be
drafted and he wanted to see the world.
He was also trying to save the world from communism. He was very cautious entering the Navy
because he was on an old World War II Destroyer and it was an
easy target. He received basic
training at the Great Lakes Naval Recruit Training Command. He was trained for underwater demolition
and seal training and navigation. He
received advanced training in survival school, navigation school, and counter
insurgency. He made many friends in
boot camp because of close proximity on the ship. The breakfast on the ship was good but the
rest of the food wasn’t because they had roast beef and roast pork
everyday. In his free time he had fun
and did a lot of sight seeing around the world. His uniforms were blue uniforms, white
uniforms, work uniforms, sailor hats, and bell bottoms. He had to sleep on a cot in a small
berthing area on the ship. The weather
was sometimes stormy and sometimes calm. It varied from season to
season. He went through hurricanes,
tropical storms, and icy water.
He was stationed in a port in Norfolk, Virginia. The ships he was on were named USS Leary and USS Trippe. His tour began in 1970. His ship was a Destroyer. It was 300 feet long and held approximately
200 sailors. He saw Russian ships and submarines following him
daily. Denny traveled into the war
zone between Egypt and Israel in the Mediterranean Sea. It was long days of unknown.
His most frightening experience
was almost running over a Russian submarine. His most interesting experience was taking
leave in Italy and going to Rome on Christmas. His most exhausting experience was going
through underwater demolition training.
His most exciting experience was coming home after deployment. He was very skilled at navigating the ship
through many islands using radar as a basic tool. He enjoyed navigating the ship using radar
and celestial navigation using sextants.
He least enjoyed manning the helm during refueling at sea. He provided support for Israel. The most impressive allied weapon he saw
was jet planes. The most impressive
enemy weapon he saw was Russian Migs. The most
impressive place he saw was the Caribbean countries. He served on all of the west coast, Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and Mediterranean Sea. His favorite place he was stationed was Charleston, South Carolina.
During his free time he traveled
around Europe and did a lot of sight
seeing. When he traveled to Rome he met Pope John XXIII. The highest rank he ever received was
E4. He took tests and scored high
enough to become a 3rd
class Petty officer. He received a
citation for the Israel conflict.
He was discharged after four
years. He hitchhiked all the way home
to Ohio from Virginia. His parents were waiting for him with a
Christmas tree up for him because he spent all four years away from home and
wasn’t able to celebrate Christmas.
After Denny was discharged he
attended the University of Akron to receive an accounting
degree. His first job was a home
appraiser. He met his wife at a night
club and married in 1976. He has a
daughter, Sandy, a probation officer and one granddaughter named Lauren. He started out working as an accounting
auditor in a bank and is currently working as a finance director at a
government agency. He currently lives
in Akron. He belongs to
the American Legion Summit County and used to be a bee
keeper. He enjoys fishing at his cabin,
which he built, and going to Indians games.
Denny traveled in the Mediterranean Sea between Egypt and Israel.
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