CTC Maynard Glenn Albertson Class #25
May 18, 1918 – February 25, 2013

Born in Blackstone, VA, to Yancy and Clara Albertson, Chief Maynard Albertson was the youngest of five brothers and five sisters. Sadly at the age of nine his father unexpectedly died.  His mother, Clara moved the family to central Florida, but she has a difficult time holding the family together. Always placing other first, Maynard and his sister volunteered to go to the Florida Methodist Children’s Home, a local orphanage.

It was there Maynard was assigned as a milker of the Home’s dairy cows. During this time Maynard learned how to survive out in the woods with another dairy worker Hugh Joiner. They would become lifelong friends. After about eight years at the home, the home started turning away babies because of the lack of space. Again placing other first, Maynard at the age of 17 decided to leave the home to make room.

In 1937, after bagging groceries, milking cows and anything to keep from starving, Maynard attempted to enlist into the United States Navy, but was rejected at least once because he was too thin. Eventually he did enlist. Because of his strong work ethic and initiative, Maynard was selected early for the Radio Intelligence program and was sent to the Navy Main Building in Washington D.C. to learn Japanese katakana, radio theory and probably basic traffic analysis and cryptanalysis. Training was from November 1940 through February 1941. The class number assigned was number 25, later to be known as On-The-Roof Gang class #25! There were 12 students in the class and the instructor was CRM Antone Novak.

Following training, Maynard was sent the Station HYPO in Heeia, Hawaii where he served as a Japanese kanakona Morse code intercept operator. He was at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and probably witnessed the Japanese attack. 

Prior to the Battle of Midway (4-7 June, 1942), Maynard was selected to join in a four-man direct support unit to deploy on the USS YORKTOWN (CV 5).  The unit consisted of one Japanese Language Officer and three kanakona intercept operators.  He was on the YOURKTOWN when the ship was hit by several Japanese torpedoes and bombs. As a result, the four member unit, along with one RIP-5 typewriter, and Admiral Fletcher’s flag staff transferred to the cruiser USS ASTORIA (CL/CA-34) via a whaleboat. The YORKTOWN eventually sank on June 7, 1942.

After the WWII and Korean wars, the Albertson family settled in San Diego, CA where Maynard was assigned an instructor at Navy Communication Training Center (NCTC) Imperial Beach, CA. He retired from the Navy in 1957.

After navy retirement, Maynard earned his high school diploma, attended San Diego State College and became a history teacher at Kearny High School in San Diego for nearly 20 years.  After his wife Momma Clara LaMerle died, Maynard moved to Wasco CA in 2004.

On February 25, 2013, Maynard died.  He is buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego plot: SECTION CBE ROW 2 SITE 304.

Featured image: Mr. and Mrs. Maynard Albertson wedding picture.

RIP Shipmate!