Dennis C. “Jens” Jensen died at his home in Oak Harbor on Friday, April 10 at 10:45 a.m., four months after being diagnosed with lung cancer.
He was born in Spirit Lake, Iowa on May 29, 1923 to Dennis C. and Winifred L. (Bone) Jensen.
During the Great Depression, Dennis enlisted in the National Guard at age
15 to support himself, since he could find no jobs in the area. He served two years in the Guard until he was discovered and released at age 17.
Jens was honorably discharged and immediately enlisted in the Navy with two years credit. He was trained as a communications technician. Jens was one of several communications staff on duty in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941, which sent the flash message about the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Jens served in the Battle of Midway, the Aleutians, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, the Philippines and Borneo. During the Battle of Midway, he served with Torpedo Squadron 18. He was sent to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island when it opened and flew aboard PBYs with VP-45. From Whidbey, he was sent to the Aleutians.
Jens was transferred to a Heavy Bomber Squadron VP-106 and sent to Hutchinson, Kan. He was assigned duty as a communications officer/navigator/bombardier until the end of the war. He retired following the Korean War. Jens was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and seven Air Medals.
Jens remained in government service and was transferred to the National Security Agency (NSA) and was stationed with the Sixth Fleet Atlantic and Admiral Carney’s staff in Japan. While in Japan, he met Keiko (Kay) and they were married. Jens retired from the Navy in December of 1955 as a CTC.
While living in Asia, Jens had his first yacht commissioned. It was a 30-foot Colin Archer. Later he moved up to a 36-foot Cheoy Lee sailboat. He and Kay lived aboard their boats for more than 10 years, sailing throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and the South Pacific.
Their travels took them to South Africa for 18 months, where Jens was employed by the South African Merchant Marine. This was before the end of apartheid. It reminded him of some parts of the southern U.S. during the late 1950s and ’60s.
Leaving South Africa, Jens and Kay sailed to the Mediterranean and then to Denmark, where they purchased a 1919 Stone Fisherman boat. He and Kay converted the vessel from diesel back to a sailing boat and sold it. They traveled on to England and purchased yet another boat. They sailed from Gibraltar across the Atlantic and headed to the Virgin Islands and on to the States. Kay’s passport had expired and the authorities refused to allow her access to the states. She was finally cleared when proof she was a military spouse was obtained.
Jens and Kay sailed on to Puerto Rico, where they struck an underwater reef and their vessel capsized and sank. A helicopter from the Puerto Rico Coast Guard rescued them and their small dog. They lost everything. With the assistance of a member of the rescue team, they borrowed enough money to get them to Panama City, Fla.
They moved up to Mobile, Ala., where Jens was hired as a senior Coast Guard radio operator for WLO. Kay also gained employment at the same facility, working as an abstractor for world wide currency. They retired when Jens reached 65 years of age.
During Desert Storm, Jens was recalled to active duty as a radio operator with the Merchant Marines. When he was once again released from duty, Jens and Kay moved to Whidbey Island, settling in Oak Harbor.
Dennis Jensen is survived by his wife of 44 years, Keiko “Kay” Jensen at the family home, and by three children: Dennis C. Jensen and wife Marta of Greenbank and two daughters Sally and Rocky Garbiso, and Patti and Gerry Mosel, both of Encinitas, Calif.
He will be greatly missed. Special thanks to the Whidbey General Hospital hospice nurses who were invaluable and kind in their care of Jens and Kay.
Cremation was held with private family inturnment to follow at a later date. Arrangements are entrusted to Burley Funeral Chapel, Oak Harbor.
