Gerald Ott Sr:  

CLASS OF 1967
Ft. washington, PA

Gerald's Story

I lived in Ambler and the Wissahickon School District until 1959. I transferred to the Upper Dublin School District in 1959, the fifth grade, when we moved to Fort Washington. After graduation, I enlisted in the Navy. I saw many parts of the country and the world, places that I wouldn't have otherwise seen. I sailed on three different ships and my home ports included San Fransisco, Long Beach (LA), and San Diego. San Diego is about 12-15 miles north of the Mexican border. Needless to say, I went to Tiajuana many times. We pulled into the ports of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. One such time, they were filming the movie Tora, Tora, Tora. It was eerie to watch the Jap Zeroes fly around the very port that they caused so much damage to, some 75 years earlier. Other ports of call included Guam, Wake Island, Philippines (many times), Taiwan, Hong Kong, Okinawa & Japan. My first two ships were LSTs (Landing Ship Tank). It has the ability to pull right on the beach, when needed. Largely we sailed from DaNang to Chu Lai and DaNang to Qua Viet, all up around the DMZ. On the way back to San Diego, we met up with another, much older LST, in Guam, and one of the rare times, that ships actually swapped their entire crews. They took our ship and went back to the war zone. We took their ship and went back to San Diego. Later we went to Panama and then through the Panama Canal. Actually there are two locks, one for the Pacific and one for the gulf. Between them is a very large lake.We sailed up to the Sabine river that separates TX and LA, to Orange, Texas. There we decommissioned our ship and two others. I was later transferred to a Destroyer and went back to Nam two more times. We would cruise up and down the coast, mostly between DaNang and the Tonkin Gulf. We would supply artillery support for the Marines and Army. We had sailed with severa...Expand for more
l different carriers and the USS New Jersey. Those guns were for real! They were 16 inch and could fire a one ton shell 20-25 miles, with deadly accuracy. Through the years I have met a number of veteran marines and army. They could not believe how accurate they were. I was discharged in 1972, where I returned to Fort Washington. I met the girl of my dreams in January of 1973. We were married that November. We lived in Langhorne and then Levittown. We have two sons who are both teachers. One teaches physics and the other biology. I was very active with them, in fact, I enjoyed their childhood more than my own. I coached baseball for 14 years, soccer for 16 years at the local youth athletic association. I would be the head coach/manager for one of my sons and an assistant for the other. I switched back and forth many times. I founded a program that I called Junior Baseball. I had six clinics for five year olds. We covered fielding (two clinics), throwing, hitting (2 clinics) and then there was "game day". I had to limit the census to 60 players. Then there was Tee-ball, and live pitching for the seven and eight year olds. Then off to Little League. The four year program had a census of approximately 275 to 300 children. We had 24 great years of marriage and then the wheels fell off. We divorced in July 2003. I was devastated. It has been just recently that I think that I may be able to open my heart to another woman. I retired on 27 February 2006. It has been a welcome relief and, I think, chiefly responsible for my improved outlook and hope. I have four grandchildren! My older son has a little angel named Ruby. My younger son has a boy-girl-boy sequence. Benjamin, my other little angel Brenna Rose (no that is not a typo) and new comer Beckett. Bye for now, Jerry I hope this note finds you all healthy, happy and safe.
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Gerald Ott Sr's Classmates profile album
Gerald Ott Sr's Classmates profile album
USS Ozbourn DD-846
Brenna Rose Ott & Ruby Victoria Ott
Stoystown PA. outside of Shanksville, PA.
Gerald Ott Sr's Classmates profile album
Gerald Ott Sr's Classmates profile album
"Wall of Honor"
Tin Can Navy best friends
Gerald Ott Sr's album, Timeline Photos
Gerald Ott Sr's album, Timeline Photos
Gerald Ott Sr's album, Timeline Photos
Gerald Ott Sr's album, Timeline Photos
Gerald Ott Sr's album, Mobile Uploads
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