Denny graduated in the June1954 from North High School. After High School, he went to college at Iowa State Teachers College (54-55), Cedar Falls. Fo rthe next year, he worked at the Camelback Inn, Phoenix (55-56). He joined the Naval Reserve while attending the University of Iowa (1956-59) and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1959 when he received his Commision as a LTjg. He spent the summer of 1959 Spent summer at Clear Lake. He entered on active duty and took his Officer Training, earning his pilot's wings at Jacksonville Naval Air Station. It is not clear when his assignment to Pensacola Naval Air Station as a flight instructor took place but by 23 February 1964 he was back at Jacksonville as The Des Moines Register published the engagement of Gloria Elilzabeth Bell to Lt Dennis Martin while at Cecil Field in Jacksonville. An April 11 wedding was planned. In The Des Moines Register, page 37, on 12 April 1964 the following was announced: Gloria Elizabeth Bell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Terrell Bell of Jacksonville, Fla.. was married Saturday to Lt. Dennis Michael Barton, son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph E. Barton, 1107 Twenty-Second St. The ceremony took place at St. Bidwards Chapel at the Naval Air Station. Jacksonville. The bride was attended by Jo Ann Pearson and Mrs. Joan Sullivan, Judy De Castro, Marlene Hogan and Donna Renee Sullivan. Lt. Robert J. Kelly was best man. Groomsmen in the wedding party were Lt. Cmdr. James D. White, Lt. Robert W. Logic, Lt. (jg) Alex 0. Hinely, Cmdr. Max K. Malan, Lt. Cmdr. John F. Wellings, Lt. William R. Zipperer and Lt(jg) Larry F. Barringer. The bride, who attended Florida State University at Tallahassee, Fla., is affiliated with Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority. Lieutenant Barton attended the State College of Iowa, Cedar Falls; received his degree from the University of Iowa, Iowa Citv, and is a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Lt Barton is attached to Attack Squadron No. 12, aboard the aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt. The couple will travel in southern Florida and later Mrs. Barton will join her husband in the Mediterranean area where he will be on duty with the Sixth Fleet. From August 1966 to January 1967, Roosevelt made her only deployment to Southeast Asia, spending a total of 95 days "on the line." It is not known if LT Barton served on the "Rosie" during that cruise. In June, 1967 he went aboard the USS Forrestal (CVA-59) as a pilot in Squadron VA-46. The ship departed Norfolk, Virgina enroute to Southeast Asia via Brazil, Africa, and the Philippines. USS FORRESTAL arrived on Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin on 25 July 1967 and immediately began combat operations. The first four days were routine; the fifth day, 29 July, was not. At 10:52 AM a 5-inch Zuni rocket accidentally fired across the crowded flight deck, impacting an armed A-4 Skyhawk. The resulting explosions and fires raged for 13 hours and more, killing 135 crewmen with hundreds more injured. More information with a list of the dead are on The Virtual Wall's USS FORRESTAL Memorial. On page 1 of the Des Moines Register on July 31, 1967: Mr. and Mrs. Joseph E Barton, 1107 Twenty-second St, were told Sunday afternoon that their son, Navy Lt. Dennis M. Barton, 32, is missing on the U.S. carrier Forrestal. Mrs. Barton's son is a Navy pilot on the Forrestal. Previously, he was stationed at Jacksonville, Fla. where his wife Gloria lives. They have no children. Lt. Barton joined the service in 1959 after graduating from the University of Iowa with a degree in psychology and industrial relations. He is a graduate of North High School. Mrs. Barton said she last received a letter from him Tuesday. She said he wrote that "he knew we were unhappy about his being in Vietnam, but he wanted to help do some good. Barton has one brother, Joseph E. Barton, Jr, of Des Moines. The 18 crewman who perished on the USS Forrestal and buried in Arlington National Cemetery are: PO2 Marvin Jarrell Adkins Mallory, West Virginia LT Dennis Michael Barton Des Moines, Iowa AIRMAN Robert John Davies Rhinelander, Wisconsin PO2 Edward Robert Dorsey Wallingford, Connecticut PO1 Walter Tasman Eads Falls Church, Virginia PO1 John Junior Fiedler Janesville, Wisconsin PO3 Russell Larry Fike Orlando, Florida Airman Johnnie Lee Frazier Plainview, Texas Airman Ralph Edward Manning East Point, Georgia PO3 Leroy Moser Pollock, South Dakota CPO Richard Lee Owens Fresno, California PO2 Ernest Elijah Polston Lancaster, South Carolina PO3 John Mark Pruner New York, New York PO2 Dale Ray Ross Wentzville, Missouri PO2 John Francis Snow Rouses Point, New York Seaman Nelson Everett Spitler Upper Sandusky, Ohio LCDR Gerry Lyle Stark Seattle, Washington Airman Harold David Watkins Cleveland, Ohio - - The Virtual Wall, June 24, 2014

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