textgrodtgaylonlavern1951.html

North High School Wall of Honor
Gaylon La Vern Grodt
Class of June, 1951

Research done by Claradell Shedd, Class of 1953.

Gaylon La Vern Grodt

Gaylon graduated in the June, 1951 North High class. He enlisted or was drafted when and where? His service number was 3323262. Gaylon's next of kin was listed as Mr. John Grodt, 4003 9th Street, Des Moines, IA.

Gaylon La Vern Grodt

Year		Rank		Status

June, 1951		Graduated		Graduated from North High School, Des Moines, IA.
Before June, 1951	x	US Navy Reserves	x	Joined before graduating from North High.
June, 1951- Aug.,1951	x	Student	x	Where? Military paperwork says Gaylon was a student.
Nov. 8, 1951	x	US Navy	x	Joined US Navy
date	x	Training	x	Boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Training Center, IL.
date	x	Stationed	x	Flew to Japan to board *USS Massey (DD-778).
date	x	Stationed	x	On USS Massey (DD-778) on offshore Korean duty
date	x	Enroute	x	From Korea to Norfolk, VA.
Early 1952	x	Enroute	x	On USS Massey (DD-778) to Greenland.
date	x	Enroute	x	From Greenland to Norfolk, VA
Fall, 1952	x	Stationed	x	From Norfolk, VA to Cuba (Guantanamo Bay). Castro was just assembling his "band" in the mountains of Cuba.
date	x	US Navy/Seaman	x	Back to the States doing anti-submarine warfare.
date	x	US Navy/Seaman	x	To Cuba; San Juan, Puerto Rica; Haiti; Kingston, Jamaica
1953	x	US Navy/Seaman	x	To Mediterrean; Ireland; Plymouth, England; Naples, Italy; Cannes, France; Capri; Venice, Italy; Spain; Turkey; Athens, Greece. There was an earthquake while in Athens.
date	x	US Navy/Seaman	x	Duty in Africa
1953	x	US Navy/ Radarman3	x	Promotion
Nov., 9, 1953	x	US Navy/ Radarman 3x	x	Discharged at Receiving Station, Naval Station, Norfolk, VA..
1953	x	Enroute	x	To Des Moines. Semi-discharged from US Naval Reserves.
1954-1958	x	Employment	x	Economy Forms, Des Moines, IA
date	x	Schooling	x	Grandview College; one year.
1956	x	Family	x	Married in Presbyterian Church at 4th and Euclid.
1958	x	Family	x	Moved to Tucson. Realtor.
1958-1991	x	Employment	x	Tucson Electric Power Company. 33 years.
1993	x	Retired	x	In wheelchair. Paralyzed from waist down. Had injured knee in service and hereditary spastic parapolisis began.
Present	x	Civilian	x	Living in AZ.



Onboard the USS Massey; Economy Forms; Tucson Electric Power; Gaylon after Boot Camp


Gale Grodt at Partheon, Acropolis; Athens, Greece; USS Massey (DD-778) in Venice; 1953


*Insignias and photo of USS Massey (DD-778); an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer

*USS Massey (DD-778)
Massey (DD-778), an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, was laid down 14 January 1944 by Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc., Seattle, Washington; launched 12 September 1944.

Massey returned to her home port, Norfolk, 2 July 1951 and resumed operations in the Atlantic. In April 1953 she departed for the Joint Antisubmarine School at Derry, Northern Ireland, and, following ASW operations with Royal Navy units, continued on to the Mediterranean for a 6-month deployment with the 6th Fleet. During this deployment she joined the carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt in providing medical and material aid to earthquake victims on Cephalonia, one of the Greek Ionian islands. She returned to the United States in October and was briefly assigned to Pensacola, Florida, for plane guard duties. She reentered Hampton Roads in time for Christmas and resumed antisubmarine activities.

Gaylon La Vern Grodt Radarman 3C Group United States Navy
	Gaylon La Vern Grodt
National Defense; Navy Occupation Medal

.References

(1) Information was obtained from the Records on Military Personnel Who Died, were Missing in Action, or Prisoners of War as a result of the Vietnam War. This document can be found online at the National Archives and Records Administration at http://www.archives.gov/.

(2) The comprehensive list of names from North High's 1893-2018 graduation classes are from Claradell Shedd's North Des Moines High School website. The names of North High School graduates can be found online at: http://www.ndmhs.com/. Gaylon La Vern Grodt's 1951 class page is: http://www.ndmhs.com/pages/yearclass1951(2011.60).html.

03/18/11: Currently living in AZ.

Music: "Anchors Aweigh"