Since starting my weekly column on local history for Appen Media nearly two years ago, I have met many noteworthy and fascinating individuals who have contributed much to the North Fulton story.
One overly modest Alpharetta resident stands out in my mind as being worthy of special attention. At 102 years of age, Franklyn Dailey is one of the few remaining members of the Greatest Generation of World War ll combat veterans. He is living proof of the adage that age is just a number. His mind is sharp, he lives alone and gets around with or without a walker. He has a wonderful story to tell.
Born of Irish descent Feb. 5, 1921 in Brockport, a village near Rochester, New York, Daily was a teenager when the worst of the Great Depression panicked the nation. A gifted student, he had the good fortune of attending Catholic schools, graduating from high school with a near 4-point average at the age of 14. He then worked briefly at Eastman Kodak Company until he enrolled in Niagara University where he remained until Caroline O’Day, Congresswoman at Large for New York State, nominated him in 1939 for appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. Daily graduated from the academy as an honor student in 1942 in the first accelerated three-year class of World War ll.
Dailey served as the gunnery officer aboard the USS Edison, a Gleaves-class destroyer, one of 66 destroyers of that class built between 1938–42. They were still being constructed when the U.S. entered the war and were among the earliest destroyers to see action. Dailey was one of 16 officers and 260 enlisted men on the ship. Later in the war the upgraded Fletcher Class destroyer was introduced. Most Annapolis graduates were assigned as gunnery officers because of their extensive training. Civilian sailors were assigned to navigation and seamanship tasks, according to…
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