General george churchill kenney

George Kenney

Surname	Kenney
Given Name	George
Born	6 Aug 1889
Died	9 Aug 1977
Country	United States
Category	Military-Air
Gender	Male

Contributor: C.

Peter Chen

ww2dbaseGeneral George Churchill Kenney was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1889 while his family was on vacation there. He continued into the U.S. Air Force (USAF) until he retired on August 31, 1945.

On July 7, 1944 Kenney summoned Charles A. Lindbergh from Nadzab Airfield back to Brisbane for a reprimand for flying combat missions and received official "observer-status" and permission to use his guns in self-defense.

In March of 1935, Kenney was promoted to lieutenant colonel, skipping over the grade of major. Beyond his capable leadership, he earned MacArthur's utmost respect with his can-do attitude, always finding new methods to achieve the impossible. Kenney observed tactical operations on the Franco-German front and studied technical developments made in military aircraft of both nations.

Kenney left day-to-day operations at SAC in the hands of his deputy commander, Major General St. Clair Streett and for the first six months of his command was away, focused on being the senior U.S. representative to the United Nations (U.N.) Military Staff Committee. In August 1942, MG Kenney took over Command of both the Allied Air Forces in the SWPA (South West Pacific Area) and the newly-formed U.S.

Fifth Air Force, thereby becoming the senior Allied Air Officer under overall Theater Commander General Douglas MacArthur.

When his father left the family, Kenney left MIT and took various jobs before becoming a surveyor for the Quebec Saguenay Railroad. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology intermittently from 1907 to 1911, but left MIT after three years to take a job at Quebec Saguenay Railroad as an instrument technician.

Lieutenant General Kenney's gallant leadership and heroic actions are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, the 5th Air Force, and the United States Army Air Forces.

General Orders: Headquarters, South West Pacific Area, General Orders No. 5 (January 11, 1943)

In Retirement

After his retirement, Kenney lived in Bay Harbor Islands, FL.

General Kenney continued to serve military affairs, and the nation, as president of the Air Force Association, in 1954, and as an official with national charities.

Kenney wrote three books about the SWPA air campaigns he led during World War II. His major work was General Kenney Reports, a personal history of the air war he led from 1942-45.

Bulova would also give Kenney a watch of his own, with inscription "To Buccaneer, as a token of my admiration and respect, Arde Bulova".17 Mar 1943 George Kenney and Richard Sutherland met with Franklin Roosevelt at the White House in Washington DC, United States. On February 1, 1945 promoted to Major General. As a result of his observations and recommendations, a number of improvements were made in United States military aircraft over a year prior to our entry into World War II.

Kenney was promoted to brigadier general in January 1941 and the following month to major general. "A second-best hand is like none at all -- it will cost you dough and win you nothing."

ww2dbaseSources:
Bruce Gamble, Fortress Rabaul
Douglas MacArthur, Reminiscences
William Manchester, American Caesar
United States Air Force Magazine
National Museum of United States Air Force

Last Major Revision: Aug 2006

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Photographs

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George Kenney Timeline

6 Aug 1889	George Kenney was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.
20 Sep 1905	Walter Grabmann was born in Bad Reichenhall, Germany.
6 Jul 1942	George Marshall asked Douglas MacArthur whether he would like to have George Kenney assigned to him to lead the air forces based in Australia.
28 Jul 1942	George Kenney arrived in Brisbane, Australia and met with Richard Sutherland.
29 Jul 1942	George Kenney met with George Brett (whom Kenney was replacing) and then with Douglas MacArthur in Brisbane, Australia. In June 1917, he enlisted as a flying cadet in the Signal Corps Aviation Section. After a poor review of SAC operations, Kenney was removed from command on October 15, 1948. In 1959, his third book, The Saga of Pappy Gunn (1959) was published by Van Rees Press, a biography of Paul "Pappy" Gunn who prewar was in the Philippines helping to establish Philippine Air Lines (PAL) and was commissioned in the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) and helped to convert Douglas A-20s of the 3rd Bomb Group into strafers adding four .50 caliber machine guns to the nose and impressed Kenney with his innovation and made him a part of his personal staff. In 1960, his fourth book, Dick Bong: Ace of Aces (1960) was published by Duell, Sloan and Pearce and reprinted two years later as a paperback Popular Library Edition. From Oct 1948 until his retirement on 31 Aug 1951, he was the commander of Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, United States. ww2dbaseKenney passed away on 9 Aug 1977. ww2dbase"Air power is like poker," Kenney was quoted saying. Eduard douwes dekker biography sampler Jhumpa lahiri biography videos about muhammad Q a analysis vikas swarup biography Carte postale robert doisneau biography Simon mawer author biography search