In God We Trust
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Born in Oregon, Kanaya enlisted at the age of 20 in the Army Medical Department in 1941, was assigned later to the 442nd Infantry Regimental Combat Team Medical Detachment as a SSG, and entered the Italian campaign attached to the 34th Infantry Division, receiving a battlefield commission. during this campaign. While attached to the 36th ID in Southern France, Kanaya was captured while attempting to evacuate casualties from the Vosges Mountains. He was taken to Oflag 64 POW Camp in Poland, marched 380 miles West Germany, escaped with the aid of Patton's Third Army, and was re-captured and returned to Oflag 64. After World War II, Kanaya served as a Regular Army officer in Germany, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Hawaii and Alaska as a Company Commander, Intelligence Officer, Field Hospital Commander, Battalion S3, Executive Officer and Commander, and as Executive Officer of the Medical Training Center at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas. He retired in 1974 with 33 years of military service.
Best known for hosting Top 40 radio countdown shows, as well as the voice of Shaggy on Scooby Doo (1969-2009), Casey Kasem was born April 27, 1932 in Detroit, Michigan. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1952, serving as DJ and announcer at the Armed Forces Radio Korea Network in Korea in 1952. He died Jun 15, 2014 in Gig Harbor, Washington.
Actor. Born in 1929 and died 2002, Kaye starred in 21 "Our Gang" movies as Waldo. He enlisted in the US Army, spending one and a half years in the service, mostly in Korea. He became a pastor later in life. He was killed by a hit and run driver while walking on a sidewalk in Riverside, California.
University of Vermont Athletic Hall of Famer. One of the greatest versatile athletes ever to don the Green and Gold was Ralph P. Kehoe, a 1973 UVM Hall of Fame inductee. The former Waterford (Conn.) High School football coach won letters in football, baseball and basketball, the lone three-letter recipient in his class. At UVM, he was also a member of Delta Psi fraternity. Like many offensive lineman throughout the country, Kehoe was sometimes overlooked while performing brilliantly up front on the offensive line. "An outstanding football player and all-around athlete," says "Fuzzy" Evans, his coach in college and fellow Athletic Hall of Fame inductee in 1973. Each year, the Ralph P. Kehoe Trophy was presented in his honor to the "Outstanding football lineman that is often unrecognized." The 1951 UVM graduate was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze and Silver Stars for his heroic action in Korea, while serving in the Army. Ralph P Kehoe began his football coaching duties as head football coach at Waterford (Conn.) High School, in 1963. He was also a former assistant principal at Old Lyme High School. Ralph was born June 1, 1928 in Rutland, Vermont and died May 1, 1989 in Essex, Connecticut.
Pitcher in major leagues. Born April 26, 1929 in Tucson, Arizona, Walt Kellner died June 19, 2006 in Tucson. He served in the US Army 1951-52. He made his MLB debut on September 6, 1952 for the Philadelphia Athletics.. His last MLB appearance was September 11, 1953 for the Philadelphia Athletics. He played several years in the minors until 1958.
On August 1, 1952, Pvt. Sarah Keys was en route from Fort Dix, New Jersey to her family's home in Washington, North Carolina, on a Carolina Coach Company Bus. During a bus change stop, the bus driver ordered Private Keys to give up her seat to a white Marine. Sarah refused, was put in jail for 13 hours, and forced to pay a $25 fine for disorderly conduct. Her parents encouraged her to file a lawsuit against the bus company, which she did. Her attorney was former WAAC and African-American lawyer Dovey Mae Johnson Roundtree (1914-2018). Attorney Roundtree graduated from Howard University Law School in 1950. Miss Keys won her case, resulting in an Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) ruling prohibiting segregation on interstate buses. The ruling was made public on November 25, 1955, six days before Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of a bus. The ICC did not enforce its own ruling until 1961. Sarah Keys married George Evans in 1958 and became a hairdresser in Harlem. On August 1, 2020, a plaza with eight chronological murals and two bronze plaques was dedicated to Sarah Keys Evans in the MLK Park, Roanoke Rapids.
Television actor who played the dad, "Porter Ricks" in the TV series Flipper in the 1960s. He served in the United States Marine Corps 1950-53, beginning his acting career after discharge from military service.
2nd longest serving US Senator. Born 2/22/1932 in Massachusetts, he died 8/25/2009. Teddy Kennedy graduated from Milton Academy Prep School in 1950. He joined the US Army in 1951 and trained for the Military Police Corps at Camp Gordon. In 1952 he was assigned as an honor guard in Europe. He was discharged from the Army in 1953 as a PFC.
Inventor. Francis Kennedy, 95, died May 10, 2020 of coronavirus in a nursing home in Clarence, New York. He was born June 21, 1924 in Pittston, Pennsylvania, to Francis P. and Loretta Kennedy. At the age of 27 years, he served as a forward artillery observer in the Korean War. He flew on 154 sorties, many as an air-spotter. He was shot down three times. He received a Silver Star for pulling three of his men to safety after a Chinese ambush. He was the recipient of two Purple Hearts. He was the investor of an early form of caller ID and designed an energy efficient concrete block. He was the father of eleven sons, three daughters, 38 grandchildren, 38 great-grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild.
This prominent lawyer in the Tampa Bay (Florida) area, was also head of the Florida Transportation Commission and served as commission member 1987-1999. He was a member of the University of Tampa Board of Trustees. He also served 39 years as general counsel and executive director of the National Juice Producers Association. He died in 2002 of Lou Gehrig's disease. David Kerr was born in Hamburg, Germany but his family moved to Bronxville, New York at the start of World War II. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, receiving his law degree from New York University in 1957.
Ed Kerrigan was involved in veterans' advocacy at the state and national level. He was the author of several books on military history and medals, and was former editor of the Purple Heart Association magazine. Born November 30, 1932 in Brooklyn, he died November 20, 2014 in Rocky Hill, Connecticut. An E-2-5 Marine in Korea, he received three Purple Hearts and the Navy Cross for action in the Korean War. His obituary is located on the KWE.
Infamous physician who assisted in patient suicides. Born Jacob Kevorkian on May 26, 1928 in Pontiac, Michigan, he graduated with a medical degree from the University of Michigan in 1952. He served 15 months as an Army medical officer in Korea, finishing his military service in Colorado. He began a crusade for assisted suicide in 1986. In 1999 he was convicted of second degree murder and the illegal delivery of a controlled substance following the assisted suicide of Thomas Youk, who suffered from Lou Gehrig's disease. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, but was released on good behavior in 2007. He died June 03, 2011 in Royal Oak, Michigan.
Electronics expert for NASA. Al joined the Air Force in 1950 for a four-year stint that included service in the Korean War. He was born February 3, 1930 in Nebraska and grew up on a farm. He worked on NASA's missile defense program, including being part of the ground team for Apollo 11 and Apollo 13 missions. He later worked on the Saturn V booster rocket. Al Kielian died on November 9, 2017 in Lincoln, Nebraska, at the age of 87.
Former chairman and chief executive of CIGNA Corp. [See Topics - Underwater Demolition - Obituaries]. He served in the U.S. Navy in World War II (underwater demolition) and was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds in combat and the Silver Star for Valor. He was recalled to active Navy duty when the Korean War broke out and stayed until 1954. Mr. Kilpatrick died January 27, 1997.
Pitcher for major league. Born March 15, 1928 in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania and died August 11, 2010 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. King was originally signed to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1946 but was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates after the 1948 season. He was drafted into the Army the first month of the Korean War and began basic training at Ft. Dix, New Jersey September 28, 1950. He began leadership training to become an infantry rifle squad leader and as cadre served on the Browning Automatic Committee headed by Lt. Constantine Thomas (World War II and Korean War veteran). When the Battalion Commander of the 60th Infantry Regiment discovered that King could type 70 words a minute, he made King a clerk typist at Battalion Headquarters for his two-year stint in the Army. King played baseball on the 60th Infantry Regiment baseball team until he was discharged from the Army on September 28, 1952.
Florida-based inventor of the magnetic credit card strip that is now used in more than 609 million credit cards worldwide. He was drafted into the army during the Korean War and served as an artillery forward observer. He went on 58 missions, getting a spinal injury on the last mission. Often referred to as the "Grandfather of Possibilities," he did not patent the strip that he invented, and thus did not make any money from it. He did, however, also design a highly successful and financially lucrative nutrition system that is now used to raise chickens more efficiently.
New York Fire Department marshal 1960-1998. John Knox, 84, New York, died March 16, 2020 of coronavirus at Mt. Sinai South Nassau Medical Center in Oceanside. Born in 1936, John first served his country as a United States Marine in Korea. He then served two years with the New York Police Department, and then the New York Fire Department fro9m 1960-1998. Thirty-four of those years was as fire marshal. During the 1970s and 80s he investigated hundreds of fires. He also founded the FDNY union that represents fire marshals. He enjoyed cross-country road trips and retired in 2018.
Minor League baseball pitcher. Born in 1928 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, PFC Koehler was serving in the US Army's 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division as an aidman with the Medical Company, when he was killed in action in Korea on July 28, 1952. He received the Silver Star posthumously. Koehler pitched against Mickey Mantle in professional baseball.
Engineer that worked on war spy plaes. Frederick "Fritz" Koerner, age 86, died of coronavirus on April 20, 2020, in the St. Therese of New Hope facility. He was born November 30, 1933, son of George and Bernice Koerner. He grew up in Bovey until his family moved to Litchfield. After graduating from Litchfield High School, he served in the US Navy for three years, three months, and three days. After his military service he worked for Honeywell Corporation's aeronautics division while attending the University of Minnesota. He married Jeanne Carlson and they were married for 66 years. The family lived in Japan, England and Sweden while he worked on top-secret war spy planes, including the SR-71 Blackbird. That aircraft flew faster and at a higher altitude than any other airplane at that time. He loved bird-watching, fishing, and listening to country and gospel music. He was also an excellent storyteller. He was survived by his wife; daughters Mrs. Michael (Kandice) Bennett and Mrs. Scott (Kathy) Bennethum; son Mark; 11 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. A graveside service will be held for Fritz Koerner in Litchfield at a later date.
Educator and Minnesota politician. Born April 19, 1928 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Kroening was a high-profile educator in the Minneapolis Public Schools. From 1975 to 1981 he served in the Minnesota House of Representatives and from 1981 to 1997 he served in the Minnesota State Senate. He was a Master Sergeant during the Korean War. Carl Kroening died June 29, 2017.