George Kenney
Encyclopedia
George Churchill Kenney (6 August 1889 – 9 August 1977) was a United States Army Air Forces
general during World War II
. He was commander of the Allied
air forces in the Southwest Pacific Area
(SWPA) from August 1942 until 1945.
, Canada
, grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts
, and graduated from Brookline High School
in 1907. He left MIT
after three years to take a job at Quebec Saguenay Railroad as an instrument technician. In June 1917 he enlisted as a flying cadet in the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps
, where he received flight training from noted aviator Bert Acosta
. As a lieutenant in France during World War I
, Kenney flew 75 combat missions and shot down two German
aircraft while serving with the 91st Aero Squadron. (It is believed that one of the two German pilots he shot down was Hermann Göring
, later the head of the Luftwaffe in World War II.) After the war, Kenney remained for a time with the Allied occupation forces in Germany. He was promoted to Captain in 1919 and was appointed commander of the 91st Aero Squadron
.
During the 1920s and 1930s, Kenney attended the Command and General Staff College
at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and the Army War College in Washington, D.C.
From September 1927 to July 1931 he was an instructor at the Air Corps Tactical School
. He was also involved in surveying airfield sites in Puerto Rico
and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Kenney was active in aeronautical research and development during this period, and pioneered the use of machine guns mounted in the wings of Air Corps pursuit planes.
By 1939, Kenney, now a Lieutenant Colonel
, commanded the Air Corps Experimental Division and Engineering School at Wright Field, Ohio. In 1940 he went to France
as U.S. Assistant military attaché
for Air to observe Allied air operations during the early stages of World War II
. As a result of his observations, he recommended many important changes to U.S. Air Corps combat tactics. In 1941, Kenney was promoted to Brigadier General
and was made commander of the Fourth Air Force
, an air defense organization based in California.
.jpg)
Kenney reported to General Douglas MacArthur
on July 28th of 1942, and his initial interview was a two hour 'dressing down' discussing the Supreme Allied Commanders negative opinions of the shortcomings of his air arm
, William Manchester
, 1978, Little Brown Company,793 pages, ISBN:0-316-54498-1, pp.300-307: On and about July-Dec 1942 and Kenney's impact on MacArthur and the war, his support for Guadalcanal and his daring offensive gamble in going to meet the Japanese in the difficult jungles of New Guinea in defense of Australia, rather than risk a war of maneuver when he had insufficient forces to move around.
>, which Kenney didn't yet command. In August 1942, as a major general, Kenney took over command of both the Allied Air Forces in the SWPA (South West Pacific Area
) and the newly-formed US Fifth Air Force
, thereby becoming the senior Allied air officer under overall theater commander General Douglas MacArthur
.
MacArthur biographer William Manchester
in "American Caesar" credits Kenney's arrival with a re-invigoration of an offensive spirit in MacArthur who was moping about in something of a funk after the recent fall of Bataan
and surrender of Corregidor
, and under the stress of having been charged with seemingly impossible tasks but given very little logistical support or military reinforcements under the Germany First strategy
of the Combined Chiefs of Staff
(CCoS). Initially from his headquarters in Brisbane
, Australia
, and later from his both his forward base in Papua
and the relocated GHQ in Hollandia New Guinea as well as after relocating his HQ to the Philippines, Kenney commanded all the American, Royal Australian Air Force
, British Royal Air Force
and Dutch
air units in the South West Pacific Area
Theater. Further, Manchester relates how Kenney encouraged MacArthur to follow his natural aggressive inclination and the controversial decision to conduct a forward defense of Australia from the closed-in, slimy, wet, triple canopy jungles of New Guinea, rather that waiting for a battle of maneuver where ever the Japanese chose to land along the immensely long but sparsely populated coastline of Australia.
It was by solving the logistics problem for MacArthur in early September of 1942 after barely two weeks on the job, as MacArthur saw it, that Kenney made his spurs with MacArthur when in a staff meeting he stated confidently he could put MacArthur's entire ground component onto New Guinea, ferried by air lift onto New Guinea with ample supplies in a mere five days, and resupply them indefinitely after that. One staff officer objected that trucks couldn't be ferried across by air, to which Kenney said they could, provided their frames were cut in two with torches, then re-welded together once across the Coral Sea
. This was an important and decisive meeting and decision: Japan's forward bases and command of the seas threatened any sea borne transport, but if Kenney could promise full logistical air lift, then it was good enough for MacArthur. "The defense of Australia will be conducted by defending Port Moresby" MacArthur directed his staff. MacArthur's willingness to trust Kenney came naturally— he was already, after only a few weeks, providing tangible results with his units already 'dueling for air parity' over Papua
and regularly making a bid for eventual air supremacy in a battle of attrition. MacArthur had grave concerns about the ongoing Battle of Guadalcanal which was only 600 miles off, Manchester tells us, and he felt an obligation to turn the heat up on the Japanese to as much as possible distract them from bending their full force on the Slot and the beleaguered island. To meet that end, Kenney already had forces almost daily systematically attacking the Japanese' Solomons bases, suppressing forces that might damage allied forces, and by postwar analysis, these spoiling attacks were definitely successful, siphoning off a portion of the strength which could attack Guadalcanal. Air shuttles and cargo transport meant MacArthur could forget the menace of Japanese air forces, surface raiders and submarine threats, and just get on prosecuting the war without any significant threat to his logistics tail, for his fighters safeguarded the air logistics on the far side of the trip, in effect helping establish a bridgehead
. Soon after, MacArthur began calling Kenney, Pirate' for his out of the box thinking, and tendency to always locate supplies or other material.
Kenney was promoted to lieutenant general in October 1942 after only two months of working for MacArthur, and such wouldn't happen without a request from MacArthur, who'd twice before been Chief of Staff of the Army. Kenney had impressed the Commander in Chief, in a short amount of time, and rightfully so, for he'd opened no less than five forward air bases about the town of Port Moresby
even as a Japanese army was attacking the area over the lofty difficult Owen Stanley Mountains. "Kenney's Boys", as MacArthur called them soon could do little wrong in the MacArthur's eyes for they were working relative miracles opposing the Japanese.
Forward forces supplied by air lift became a characteristic of the tactics and modus operandi MacArthur and Kenney would employ for the next two years as they bypassed Japanese strong forces and most fixed defences with tactical 'hops' down the coast by air and/or amphibious assault, using a leapfrogging strategy that forced the Japanese to waste energy and attack instead; attack onto his prepared defenses instead of vice versa. For three years he directed an aggressive air war against Japanese positions in and around New Guinea
(including the surrounding islands), the Dutch East Indies
, Borneo, and the Philippines
. Further, he pushed his people to work out and develop low level skip bombing techniques for use as anti-shipping measures.
One of Kenney's most successful air operations was the destruction of a major Japanese
reinforcement fleet during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea
in 1943. The loss of most of this huge armada, loaded with supplies and troop reinforcements, ended Japanese hopes of retaining control of New Guinea.
In 1944 Kenney was appointed commander of the revived US Far East Air Force
(FEAF), which came to include the Fifth, Thirteenth
, and Seventh Air Force
s. After the liberation of the Philippines, units under Kenney's command took part in the battles of Iwo Jima
and Okinawa
. C-46 and C-47 transport aircraft of the FEAF were the first American planes to land in Japan following the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945.
(SAC), but chose to spend most of his time in the political battle surrounding the establishment of an independent United States Air Force. As a result, SAC's efficiency suffered. In 1948 Lieutenant General Curtis LeMay
replaced Kenney as commander of SAC.
Kenney then served as commander of the Air University until his retirement in 1951. During a career which spanned over 30 years, Kenney was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
with one oak leaf cluster, the Distinguished Service Medal
with one oak leaf cluster, the Silver Star
, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart
(for meritorious service, not wounds), and several foreign decorations. After his retirement, Kenney lived in Bay Harbor Islands, Florida
, where he died in 1977. He is survived by five sons and one daughter.
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 to 1945. He also wrote The Saga of Pappy Gunn
and Dick Bong: Ace of Aces, which described the careers of two of the most prominent airmen under his command (P-38 pilot Major Richard I. Bong remains the top-scoring American ace of all time, having shot down 40 Japanese planes).
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
general during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was commander of the Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
air forces in the Southwest Pacific Area
South West Pacific theatre of World War II
The South West Pacific Theatre, technically the South West Pacific Area, between 1942 and 1945, was one of two designated area commands and war theatres enumerated by the Combined Chiefs of Staff of World War II in the Pacific region....
(SWPA) from August 1942 until 1945.
Early life
Kenney was born in Yarmouth, Nova ScotiaYarmouth, Nova Scotia
Yarmouth is a town and fishing port located on the Gulf of Maine in rural southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the shire town of Yarmouth County. The town is located in the heart of the world's largest lobster fishing grounds and has Canada's highest lobster catch.- History :The townsite may...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
, and graduated from Brookline High School
Brookline High School
Brookline High School is a four-year public high school in the town of Brookline, Massachusetts, in the United States.As of the 2007-08 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,826 students and 136 teachers , for a student-teacher ratio of 13.4 to 1 teacher.-Education:Almost every senior in...
in 1907. He left MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
after three years to take a job at Quebec Saguenay Railroad as an instrument technician. In June 1917 he enlisted as a flying cadet in the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps
Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps
The Aviation Section, Signal Corps, was the military aviation service of the United States Army from 1914 to 1918, and a direct ancestor of the United States Air Force. It replaced and absorbed the Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps, and was succeeded briefly by the Division of Military...
, where he received flight training from noted aviator Bert Acosta
Bert Acosta
Bertrand Blanchard Acosta was a record setting aviator. With Clarence D. Chamberlin they set an endurance record of 51 hours, 11 minutes, and 25 seconds in the air. He later flew in the Spanish Civil War in the Yankee Squadron. He was known as the Bad Boy of the Air...
. As a lieutenant in France during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Kenney flew 75 combat missions and shot down two German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
aircraft while serving with the 91st Aero Squadron. (It is believed that one of the two German pilots he shot down was Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
, later the head of the Luftwaffe in World War II.) After the war, Kenney remained for a time with the Allied occupation forces in Germany. He was promoted to Captain in 1919 and was appointed commander of the 91st Aero Squadron
91st Network Warfare Squadron
The 91st Network Warfare Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit, currently assigned to the 67th Network Warfare Wing at Kelly Annex, part of Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.-Overview:...
.
During the 1920s and 1930s, Kenney attended the Command and General Staff College
Command and General Staff College
The United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military officers. The college was established in 1881 by William Tecumseh Sherman as a...
at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and the Army War College in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
From September 1927 to July 1931 he was an instructor at the Air Corps Tactical School
Air Corps Tactical School
The Air Corps Tactical School, also known as ACTS and "the Tactical School", was a military professional development school for officers of the United States Army Air Service and United States Army Air Corps, the first such school in the world. Created in 1920 at Langley Field, Virginia, it...
. He was also involved in surveying airfield sites in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Kenney was active in aeronautical research and development during this period, and pioneered the use of machine guns mounted in the wings of Air Corps pursuit planes.
By 1939, Kenney, now a Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
, commanded the Air Corps Experimental Division and Engineering School at Wright Field, Ohio. In 1940 he went to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
as U.S. Assistant military attaché
Military attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission . This post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer who retains the commission while serving in an embassy...
for Air to observe Allied air operations during the early stages of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. As a result of his observations, he recommended many important changes to U.S. Air Corps combat tactics. In 1941, Kenney was promoted to Brigadier General
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
and was made commander of the Fourth Air Force
Fourth Air Force
The Fourth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve . It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California....
, an air defense organization based in California.
World War II
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
on July 28th of 1942, and his initial interview was a two hour 'dressing down' discussing the Supreme Allied Commanders negative opinions of the shortcomings of his air arm
American Caesar
American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur, 1880-1964 is a 1978 biography of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur by American historian William Manchester...
, William Manchester
William Manchester
William Raymond Manchester was an American author, biographer, and historian from Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, notable as the bestselling author of 18 books that have been translated into over 20 languages...
, 1978, Little Brown Company,793 pages, ISBN:0-316-54498-1, pp.300-307: On and about July-Dec 1942 and Kenney's impact on MacArthur and the war, his support for Guadalcanal and his daring offensive gamble in going to meet the Japanese in the difficult jungles of New Guinea in defense of Australia, rather than risk a war of maneuver when he had insufficient forces to move around.
>, which Kenney didn't yet command. In August 1942, as a major general, Kenney took over command of both the Allied Air Forces in the SWPA (South West Pacific Area
South West Pacific Area
South West Pacific Area was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific theatres of World War II, during 1942–45...
) and the newly-formed US Fifth Air Force
Fifth Air Force
The Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
, thereby becoming the senior Allied air officer under overall theater commander General Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
.
MacArthur biographer William Manchester
William Manchester
William Raymond Manchester was an American author, biographer, and historian from Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, notable as the bestselling author of 18 books that have been translated into over 20 languages...
in "American Caesar" credits Kenney's arrival with a re-invigoration of an offensive spirit in MacArthur who was moping about in something of a funk after the recent fall of Bataan
Battle of Bataan
The Battle of Bataan represented the most intense phase of Imperial Japan's invasion of the Philippines during World War II. The capture of the Philippine Islands was crucial to Japan's effort to control the Southwest Pacific, seize the resource-rich Dutch East Indies, and protect its Southeast...
and surrender of Corregidor
Corregidor
Corregidor Island, locally called Isla ng Corregidor, is a lofty island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in southwestern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines. Due to this location, Corregidor was fortified with several coastal artillery and ammunition magazines to defend the entrance of...
, and under the stress of having been charged with seemingly impossible tasks but given very little logistical support or military reinforcements under the Germany First strategy
Europe first
Europe first, also known as Germany first, was the key element of the grand strategy employed by the United States and the United Kingdom during World War II. According to this policy, the United States and the United Kingdom would use the preponderance of their resources to subdue Nazi Germany in...
of the Combined Chiefs of Staff
Combined Chiefs of Staff
The Combined Chiefs of Staff was the supreme military command for the western Allies during World War II. It was a body constituted from the British Chiefs of Staff Committee and the American Joint Chiefs of Staff....
(CCoS). Initially from his headquarters in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and later from his both his forward base in Papua
Papua
Papua was the name, as provided to the Portuguese commander Jorge de Meneses while sheltering there in 1526, of the people living on Waigeo, one of the Raja Ampat Islands west of the Vogelkop Peninsula, now part of the West Papua province of Indonesia. The Spanish pilot Martin de Uriarte in the...
and the relocated GHQ in Hollandia New Guinea as well as after relocating his HQ to the Philippines, Kenney commanded all the American, Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
, British Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
and Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
air units in the South West Pacific Area
South West Pacific Area
South West Pacific Area was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific theatres of World War II, during 1942–45...
Theater. Further, Manchester relates how Kenney encouraged MacArthur to follow his natural aggressive inclination and the controversial decision to conduct a forward defense of Australia from the closed-in, slimy, wet, triple canopy jungles of New Guinea, rather that waiting for a battle of maneuver where ever the Japanese chose to land along the immensely long but sparsely populated coastline of Australia.
It was by solving the logistics problem for MacArthur in early September of 1942 after barely two weeks on the job, as MacArthur saw it, that Kenney made his spurs with MacArthur when in a staff meeting he stated confidently he could put MacArthur's entire ground component onto New Guinea, ferried by air lift onto New Guinea with ample supplies in a mere five days, and resupply them indefinitely after that. One staff officer objected that trucks couldn't be ferried across by air, to which Kenney said they could, provided their frames were cut in two with torches, then re-welded together once across the Coral Sea
Coral Sea
The Coral Sea is a marginal sea off the northeast coast of Australia. It is bounded in the west by the east coast of Queensland, thereby including the Great Barrier Reef, in the east by Vanuatu and by New Caledonia, and in the north approximately by the southern extremity of the Solomon Islands...
. This was an important and decisive meeting and decision: Japan's forward bases and command of the seas threatened any sea borne transport, but if Kenney could promise full logistical air lift, then it was good enough for MacArthur. "The defense of Australia will be conducted by defending Port Moresby" MacArthur directed his staff. MacArthur's willingness to trust Kenney came naturally— he was already, after only a few weeks, providing tangible results with his units already 'dueling for air parity' over Papua
Papua
Papua was the name, as provided to the Portuguese commander Jorge de Meneses while sheltering there in 1526, of the people living on Waigeo, one of the Raja Ampat Islands west of the Vogelkop Peninsula, now part of the West Papua province of Indonesia. The Spanish pilot Martin de Uriarte in the...
and regularly making a bid for eventual air supremacy in a battle of attrition. MacArthur had grave concerns about the ongoing Battle of Guadalcanal which was only 600 miles off, Manchester tells us, and he felt an obligation to turn the heat up on the Japanese to as much as possible distract them from bending their full force on the Slot and the beleaguered island. To meet that end, Kenney already had forces almost daily systematically attacking the Japanese' Solomons bases, suppressing forces that might damage allied forces, and by postwar analysis, these spoiling attacks were definitely successful, siphoning off a portion of the strength which could attack Guadalcanal. Air shuttles and cargo transport meant MacArthur could forget the menace of Japanese air forces, surface raiders and submarine threats, and just get on prosecuting the war without any significant threat to his logistics tail, for his fighters safeguarded the air logistics on the far side of the trip, in effect helping establish a bridgehead
Bridgehead
A bridgehead is a High Middle Ages military term, which antedating the invention of cannons was in the original meaning expressly a referent term to the military fortification that protects the end of a bridge...
. Soon after, MacArthur began calling Kenney, Pirate' for his out of the box thinking, and tendency to always locate supplies or other material.
Kenney was promoted to lieutenant general in October 1942 after only two months of working for MacArthur, and such wouldn't happen without a request from MacArthur, who'd twice before been Chief of Staff of the Army. Kenney had impressed the Commander in Chief, in a short amount of time, and rightfully so, for he'd opened no less than five forward air bases about the town of Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
even as a Japanese army was attacking the area over the lofty difficult Owen Stanley Mountains. "Kenney's Boys", as MacArthur called them soon could do little wrong in the MacArthur's eyes for they were working relative miracles opposing the Japanese.
Forward forces supplied by air lift became a characteristic of the tactics and modus operandi MacArthur and Kenney would employ for the next two years as they bypassed Japanese strong forces and most fixed defences with tactical 'hops' down the coast by air and/or amphibious assault, using a leapfrogging strategy that forced the Japanese to waste energy and attack instead; attack onto his prepared defenses instead of vice versa. For three years he directed an aggressive air war against Japanese positions in and around New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
(including the surrounding islands), the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
, Borneo, and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. Further, he pushed his people to work out and develop low level skip bombing techniques for use as anti-shipping measures.
One of Kenney's most successful air operations was the destruction of a major Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
reinforcement fleet during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea
Battle of the Bismarck Sea
The Battle of the Bismarck Sea took place in the South West Pacific Area during World War II. During the course of the battle, aircraft of the U.S. 5th Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force attacked a Japanese convoy that was carrying troops to Lae, New Guinea...
in 1943. The loss of most of this huge armada, loaded with supplies and troop reinforcements, ended Japanese hopes of retaining control of New Guinea.
In 1944 Kenney was appointed commander of the revived US Far East Air Force
United States Far East Air Force
The Far East Air Force was the military aviation arm of the United States Army in the Philippines just prior to and at the beginning of World War II. Formed on 16 November 1941, FEAF was the predecessor of the Fifth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces and United States Air...
(FEAF), which came to include the Fifth, Thirteenth
Thirteenth Air Force
The Thirteenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. 13 AF has never been stationed in the continental United States...
, and Seventh Air Force
Seventh Air Force
The Seventh Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea....
s. After the liberation of the Philippines, units under Kenney's command took part in the battles of Iwo Jima
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima , or Operation Detachment, was a major battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan. The U.S...
and Okinawa
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
. C-46 and C-47 transport aircraft of the FEAF were the first American planes to land in Japan following the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945.
Post-war
Kenney received the four stars of a full general on 9 March 1945, and after World War II served in Europe as a staff officer. In April 1946 he became the first commander of the newly formed Strategic Air CommandStrategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
(SAC), but chose to spend most of his time in the political battle surrounding the establishment of an independent United States Air Force. As a result, SAC's efficiency suffered. In 1948 Lieutenant General Curtis LeMay
Curtis LeMay
Curtis Emerson LeMay was a general in the United States Air Force and the vice presidential running mate of American Independent Party candidate George Wallace in 1968....
replaced Kenney as commander of SAC.
Kenney then served as commander of the Air University until his retirement in 1951. During a career which spanned over 30 years, Kenney was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
with one oak leaf cluster, the Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Service Medal (United States)
The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest non-valorous military and civilian decoration of the United States military which is issued for exceptionally meritorious service to the government of the United States in either a senior government service position or as a senior officer of the United...
with one oak leaf cluster, the Silver Star
Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
(for meritorious service, not wounds), and several foreign decorations. After his retirement, Kenney lived in Bay Harbor Islands, Florida
Bay Harbor Islands, Florida
Bay Harbor Islands is a town in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,146 at the 2000 census. It is separated from the mainland by Biscayne Bay, with which it is connected via the Broad Causeway. On the mainland side, BHI is bordered by the city of North Miami, while to...
, where he died in 1977. He is survived by five sons and one daughter.
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 to 1945. He also wrote The Saga of Pappy Gunn
Paul Gunn
Colonel Paul I. "Pappy" Gunn was a former U.S.naval aviator known most for his actions in the Second World War as an officer in the United States Army Air Forces...
and Dick Bong: Ace of Aces, which described the careers of two of the most prominent airmen under his command (P-38 pilot Major Richard I. Bong remains the top-scoring American ace of all time, having shot down 40 Japanese planes).
See also
External links
- Arlington Cemetery, 2003, "George Churchill Kenney – General, United States Air Force"
- Lt Col. Kent L. Manuel, 1996, "General Kenney as a strategic leader" (dead link as of 15 January 2011)
- Ken's Men: 5th AAF 43rd BG website of the 43rd Bomb Group of the 5th Army Air Force, the Group known as "Ken's Men" in honor of their leader, General Kenney
- General Kenney interviewed by Mike WallaceMike Wallace (journalist)Myron Leon "Mike" Wallace is an American journalist, former game show host, actor and media personality. During his 60+ year career, he has interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers....
on The Mike Wallace Interview October 12, 1957