PERSONAL PROFILES
LeRoy Dennis
A USS UTAH DEC. 7TH CASUALTY
LeRoy Dennis, Sea2/c - Fort Worth Texas: The information contained was submitted by LeRoy's nephew, Buddy Scribbner.
We don't know how young Leroy died on that fateful day in December, 1941. If any of his shipmates out there have this information and would like to share it with his family please e-mail the Webmaster.
National Archives records indicates that LeRoy's next of kin was his mother, Mrs. Ethel Howard, 4657 White Settlement Road, Fort Worth Texas. From the newspaper clippings we learned that young LeRoy had served in the CCC prior enlisting in the Navy. In the next two photos we see young Dennis dressed in the CCC uniform.
To the younger generations reading this - - the CCC was one of President Roosevelt's "alphabetical soup" organizations, formed during the great depression to lift the economy by furnishing worthwhile employment to our unmarried male citizens. The full name of the "CCC" was "The Civilian Conservation Corps."
The CCC was one of the earliest New Deal programs; it was established to relieve unemployment during the Great Depression by providing national conservation work primarily for young unmarried men. Recruits lived in semi military work camps and received $30 a month as well as food and medical care. Projects included planting trees, building flood barriers, fighting forest fires, and maintaining forest roads and trails. It employed a total of 3 million men during its existence.
It appears that LeRoy Dennis enlisted in the Navy in 1941. Shown below is the typical "boot camp" photo.
After Navy "boot camp" LeRoy's first assignment was the USS Utah. He reported aboard Utah between October 1, and December 7, 1941. He would be killed during the sneak Japanese attack. That attack made LeRoy's mom one of the first "Gold Star Mothers." Before the war ended hundreds of thousands would join her by placing the "Gold Star Mother" decal in a front window.
Here is more of LeRoy's life as told by photos and newsclippings:
