More detail on this person: Helicopter accident
in Gulf of Mexico. On a training mission for the
Son Tay raid 36 miles southwest of Eglin Air Force
Base. CPT Kenny was a native of New York,
completed Air Force ROTC as a Distinguished
Military Graduate and commissioned a second
lieutenant in 1962. He took his fixed wing
training at Moody AFB and was then sent to Stead
AFB for rotary wing training. He was ordered to
Vietnam in 1965. Operating from Udorn AFB,
Thailand, he piloted CH-3 "Jolly Green" on 147
rescue missions, 37 of which were to North
Vietnam. He received numerous military honors
and decorations from both the U.S. and Vietnamese
governments for his heroic actions.
Upon his return to the U.S., he was assigned at
Eglin AFB initially, then transferred to Scott AFB
in Illinois, where he was the heavy lift
helicopter Safety Officer. He was back at Eglin
on TDY at the time of the helicopter accident.
Search Is Ended For Downed Fliers
ELGIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AP) - An
Air Force spokesman said the search for three
fliers downed in the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday has
ended.
The HH52B helicopter crashed in the Gulf
about 36 miles southwest of Elgin during a
training mission.
The search by Coast Guard aircraft and
ships, and search and rescue craft from Elgin
turned up nothing.
The Air Force identified the men as Capt.
Varl W. Oliver, instructor-pilot of Mary Ester,
Fla., formerly of Englewood, Colo.; Capt. Thomas
E. Kenny of Fairview Heights, Ill.; and M.Sgt.
William T. Lane of Fort Walton Beach, Fla.,
formerly of Dallas, Tex.
This information was last updated 01/23/2019
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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