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: 01/11/2025
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