HUNTINGTON KENNETH E

COL Kenneth E Huntington was a potential VHPA member who died after his tour in Vietnam on 03/24/1994 at the age of 72.6
Santa Cruz, CA
Date of Birth 08/22/1921
Served in the U.S. Marine Corps
This information was provided by Mike Law

More detail on this person: KENNETH HUNTINGTON, MARINE PILOT IN 3 WARS Kenneth E. Huntington, a Marine pilot who distinguished himself in three wars and then served both Pasatiempo Country Club and the University of California, Santa Cruz, has died. Col. Huntington, who had cancer, was hospitalized in Santa Cruz after a heart attack March 21 and died Thursday. He was 72. Flying a Corsair off the USS Bennington in the South Pacific in World War II, Col. Huntington dropped a bomb down the forward turret of the Japanese battleship Yamato, disabling it. That act in the sinking of the dreadnought was memorialized in the book "One Marine, One Bomb, One Navy Cross." The medal Col. Huntington earned is second only to the Medal of Honor for an act of heroism. Col. Huntington also flew in combat in the Korean War but in a flameout over Miramar Naval Air Station afterward his back was broken, said his daughter Judy Martin. Her father wasn't about to quit flying, she said, so he trained as a helicopter pilot and then commanded a squadron for three years during the Vietnam War, where he was wounded. During a military career that spanned 35 years, Col. Huntington served as chief of staff at El Toro Marine Station and as commanding officer of the Marine base in Santa Ana. When he retired in 1974, he and his wife, Marllys "Scottie" Huntington, traveled and then settled at Pasatiempo Country Club in Santa Cruz, where he five times served as president of the club's association. Col. Huntington also was president of Long Marine Laboratory for UCSC for several years. A private family graveside service will be conducted today at the Riverside National Cemetery and a memorial service will begin at 2 p.m. Wednesday at El Toro. Survivors in addition to his wife include two daughters, Vicki Cole of Los Gatos and Judy Martin of South Pasadena; a sister, Jean Rodriquez of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; a brother, Walter Huntington of San Diego; six grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. Donations may be made to the Long Marine Laboratory at the university.

Burial information: Riverside National Cemetery, Riverside, CA

This information was last updated 11/07/2018

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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024


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