- November 25, 2024
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Benjamin Ladrido joined the U.S. Navy as an 18-year-old Filipino citizen at Naval Station Sangley Point, Republic of the Philippines. Soon he found himself introduced to the United States by way of Naval recruit training in San Diego, California. His first assignment was aboard the U.S.S. Grant County LST-1174 at Norfolk, Virginia. Ladrido was sworn in as a U.S. naturalized citizen in 1973. He served aboard several surface warfare ships before transitioning to submarines in 1980. During one of his deployments aboard the U.S.S. Norfolk (SSN-714), a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, he was awarded the Realm of the Arctic Circle certificate when the sub crossed the Arctic Circle, and he became a “Blue Nose”. Of course, they did so beneath the ice as nuclear subs patrol for weeks or months at a time submerged. During a three-year break from sea duty, Ladrido was assigned as an ROTC instructor at Penn State University. He then returned to the subs. He found that he enjoyed submarine duty very much and when he was honorably retired after a distinguished Navy career, he continued working in the submarine building industry for another 30 years as a readiness inspector, first as a contractor then as a federal employee. He retired again in 2021 and moved to Palm Coast with his wife Beverly of 53 years. They have four children, three of whom attended Penn State University.
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