World War II Veteran Technical Sergeant Raymond Kenney celebrated his 103rd birthday at the Tulsa VFW on Saturday.
When Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941, he was working at the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in New Haven, Connecticut. He immediately wanted to enlist, but couldn't because he was working in a defense plant. he told his employer that he wanted to be a Marine and that he would train a replacement if they would release him to serve.
Kenney joined the Marine Corps on August 20, 1942, and shipped off to Parris Island, South Carolina, for boot camp. While there, he was asked if he had any flight training, which he had, so he was shipped off to flight training school and awarded his Naval Aviator Wings.
He was then ordered to Cherry Point, North Carolina, to join MAG (Marine Air Group) 35 of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
He flew both the Douglas SBD (Scout Bomber Douglas) Dive-bombers and the F4U3 Corsairs.
After the Japanese surrender, he served with the occupation forces of Japan until April 22, 1946, when he returned home.
--GreGen
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