Harry Whitney was born on August 24, 1921, in Buffalo, New York. After working as a Field Representative for GMAC in Buffalo, Harry enlisted in the U.S. Navy on January 15, 1942. He completed basic training at NTS Newport, Rhode Island, in February 1942, and then served as a Yeoman to the ship's chaplain and then the ship's navigator aboard the battleship USS Washington (BB-56) from February 1942 to February 1944, during which time he participated in convoy escort duty in the North Atlantic from March to August 1942, the Third Battle of Savo at Guadalcanal in November 1942, Operation Galvanic in the Tarawa Atoll and Gilbert Islands from November to December 1943, the Bombardment of Nauru in December 1943, the Kavieng raids from December 1943 to January 1944, and Operation Flintlock, the Bombardment of Kwajalein, from January to February 1944. Y1c Whitney then entered the Navy V-12 Program for Officer Training, attending Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, from March to November 1944, Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts, from November 1944 to June 1945, and Tufts College in Medford, Massachusetts, from June to July 1945. Y1c Whitney rejoined the fleet with the 3rd Naval District at USNABPD San Bruno, California, in August 1945, and received an honorable discharge from the Navy shortly after World War II ended, on September 24, 1945. After leaving the Navy, he worked for General Motors Corporation until his retirement in September 1981. Harry died on June 23, 2011.