Danny "Gunny" J. Whyte, Jr., was born in 1937 in the South Bronx, New York City. His parents, Daniel and Catheline Whyte were both immigrants from Ireland but met and married in New York. His father was a retired police officer. In 1954 Danny joined the Marine Corps and was sent to Parris Island, South Carolina for boot camp. He served in the 3^rd Battalion, 3^rd Marines at the Suez Canal in 1956, was then sent to Okinawa, Cuba and Guantanamo Bay, and then California where he served as a drone instructor from 1963 to 1965. In 1967, Gunny was deployed to Vietnam and was assigned to Delta Company 1^st Battalion, 4^th Marines, but was severely injured. After six and a half months of recovery, he was sent to Lackland Air Force Base, Texas and trained as a dog handler then served a second tour in Vietnam. He returned to Camp Pendleton, California and retired from the Marine Corps as a recruiter in East Texas in 1976. Gunny married Nancy Jo Quinn in 1984 and he has two daughters and one grandchild.