Daniel Herbert Dennison

DENNISON, DANIEL HERBERT Retired Navy Chief Volunteer for the Elderly Despite his humble beginnings in 1917 as the seventh of eight children born to a poor sharecropping family in northwest Texas, Dan Dennison believed that hard work and a good attitude would overcome all adversity. He also knew that luck and family loyalty were important ingredients, too. He quit high school during the Great Depression to cut sugar cane, tend hogs and cattle, and eventually work for the Civilian Conservation Corps - all to earn money for the family. In 1936, he became one of many young men leaving the farm and heading to California in search of work; he landed in San Diego working for LC Anderson Roofing Co. for several years. Tired of hot asphalt and falling off tile roofs, he joined the Navy in 1940, becoming a flight engineer. He loved flying. On December 6, 1941, Dan's squadron was conducting maneuvers on Midway Island. A Japanese cruiser and two destroyers returning from Pearl Harbor attacked them. The squadron of 15 planes took off under fire. One plane was destroyed on the ground and two others were hit going out. They flew to Johnston Island, refueled, returned to Midway, and engaged in an air fight with Japanese planes. Exhausted, they flew to Pearl Harbor and landed after 21 hours of flying. Even though they had been awake for two days, the devastation was so upsetting that no one could sleep. Dan later learned that his mother had been told he was killed. It took days for her to receive the telegram from her son that he had narrowly escaped fatal injuries, for which he received a Purple Heart. Dan was a Texas charmer with a twinkle in his eye. When he was assigned to the Norman, Oklahoma Naval training base, his future wife, Mary Katherine Landon, fell in love and married him in less than six weeks. He eventually became a Chief Aviation Machinist Mate, traveling to Japan, to Korea, and into Antarctica on the USS Currituk during "Operation High Jump" with Admiral Byrd. He and his wife settled in a cute bungalow in Chula Vista in 1950 with their two children, Dan Jr. and Donna. "The Chief" retired from the Navy in 1959, and worked as a civil service machinist at North Island until he retired again in 1982. His third career was devoted to volunteerism, especially for the elderly. He served in the California Senior Legislature, diligently laboring to get Advanced Directive/Living Will legislation passed into law. He also worked tirelessly with AARP, and served on many public and private senior advisory boards. Dan died on January 28, 2009, at the Veterans Home in Chula Vista. His wife, Mary Katherine "Kay" Dennison, preceded him in death on August 2, 2005. He is survived by his two children, Dan Jr. of Placitas, New Mexico, and Donna Kathleen Dennison of San Diego. He has one grandchild, Fletcher L. Dennison, living in Los Angeles. At 2:00 p.m. on Friday, May 1st, a Military Ceremony will be held at Fort Rosecrans Military Cemetery located on Point Loma in San Diego. After the memorial, we will gather in nearby Ocean Beach to eat fish tacos and toast Dan's memory. For more information, call Laura Dennison at (619) 227-4420. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation in Dan's name to the George G. Glenner Alzheimer Center at 280 Saylor Drive, Chula Vista, CA 91910.