Albert Eugene Simpson was born May 1, 1921 in Homer, New York about 25 miles south of Syracuse. His mother, Beatrice Hill Simpson, was a homemaker and his father, Vernon A. Simpson, worked odd jobs.

By 1930 the family had moved to Hector, New York on the east bank of Seneca Lake.

The Great Depression was hard for the family, which included six children. In 1939 the father was a construction laborer and both Albert and his brother Frank worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps. The CCC was a federal jobs program for young men; both sons had completed 8th grade. The three men earned a combined $805 in 1939.

When Albert applied to the Navy in September 1940 he said he’d attended Burdett Central High School in Burdett, NY, for one year, ending in 1934. He also said he’d worked for three years as a farm laborer in Lockwood, NY.

Albert enlisted in the Navy on Oct. 15, 1940. He was a seaman first class on the U.S.S. Arizona when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941

Brother Frank enlisted in the Army about March 1940 and served until November 1945.

The youngest brother, Donald, born in 1931, also served in the Army.