Larry Claxton Flynt Jr (Publisher)

b. 1 Nov 1942 .
US Army, 1958 US Navy, 1960-1964

Seems Larry Flynt, son of a WWII veteran, was never one for following rules yet always one for championing his personal sense of right and wrong. At the age of 15, he used a false birth certificate to enlist in the US Army. After spending a year amongst the ranks, he was discharged due to low test scores. When Flynt enlisted in the United States Navy in July 1960, he was the only sailor at his Great Lakes boot camp with any prior service.

During boot camp, Flynt served as a Master-at-Arms for his company. He went on to attend Radar “A” school and finished as the youngest 2nd class Petty Officer in the Navy at the time. He was then sent on to Officer’s CIC school in Brunswich, GA. In 1962 , Flynt became a radar operator on the USS Enterprise. He was the operator on duty when the ship was assigned to recover John Glenn's space capsule.

For such a free thinker, Larry surprisingly excelled within the disciplinary construct of the military. In his book, Naked Ambition, Flynt assuredly recalls his stellar performance,

“I was the absolute best at what I did. I set an example for the men who worked for me, and I made sure that I knew each and every one of their jobs better than they knew it themselves.”

He was honorably discharged in July 1964.