Throughout the 2023-24 academic year, Lancaster Bible College | Capital Seminary & Graduate School will celebrate our 90th anniversary! Here, we introduce our community to “90 Faces of LBC” each week. Keep up with all the news and events of our 90th year, read stories and more at lbc.edu/90.
Two fellow LBC alumni and employees served on the same U.S. Navy ship decades apart. Left, Hospital Corpsman Second Class (E5) Shannon Sensenig served on the USS Denver from 2012-14, and, right, Machinist Mate Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael Allen worked as a machinist mate in the engine room of the USS Denver from 1982-84.
Navy Shipmates
LBC Student, Employee Served on USS Denver 30 Years Apart
An LBC Veterans Day social media post in 2022 led to a current student and an employee realizing they shared a connection—they served on the same U.S. Navy ship almost 30 years apart.
The USS Denver (LPD-9) was retired from service in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Aug. 14, 2014, after being in active service for 46 years. At the time of her decommissioning, the Denver was the oldest deployable warship in the Navy and was one of the last active warships to have served in Vietnam.
Machinist Mate Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael “Mike” Allen (’20) serves LBC as a member of the Physical Plant team, spending eight years in the Navy earlier in his career. From 1982-84, Allen worked as a machinist mate in the engine room of the USS Denver while it was stationed in San Diego, Calif.
Hospital Corpsman Second Class (E5) Shannon Sensenig (’26) served on the USS Denver from 2012-14. The Business Administration major was a part of the decommissioning crew that retired the ship in 2014.
Serving as a member of the medical team aboard the USS Denver while stationed in Sasebo, Japan, “Doc” Sensenig helped provide care to the 400 crew members, leading CPR, first aid and casualty assistance training. He also served as the primary Flight Deck Safety Corpsman during flight operations at sea.
“It’s a really cool feeling to know that I was walking around the same ship, eating my meals on the same mess deck and looking out at the horizon from the same viewpoint that Mike had years before me,” Sensenig said. “I’m thankful for all the sailors, like Mike, who went before me and bravely served our country, laying a foundation of faithful service in such a selfless manner.”
