Kenyon, Karl Walton

Date of birth:: February 23rd, 1918 (La Jolla/California, United States)
Date of death:: March 27th, 2007
Nationality:: American

Biography

Karl Kenyon attended Pomona College from 1936 to 1940 and then entered Cornell University to earn a Master’s degree in 1941. Karl’s academic studies ended when he was drafted into the military. In World War II, he served as a naval aviator aboard the USS Sangamon in the Pacific theater, where he flew 97 sorties. He was shot down over Leyte Island in the Philippines and rescued at sea. After his discharge with honors as a Lieutenant Commander he started to conduct research on bird and sea mammals, becoming a member of the American Ornithologists’ Union and a Honorary Member of the Society for Marine Mammalogy.

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Navy Cross

Period:: Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:: Lieutenant
Unit:: Composite Squadron 37/U.S.S. Sangamon

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant [then Lieutenant, Junior Grade] Karl Walton Kenyon, United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Torpedo Plane in Composite Squadron THIRTY-SEVEN (VC-37), attached to the U.S.S. SANGAMON (CVE-26), in action against enemy Japanese forces during the Battle for Leyte Gulf, on 24 October 1944. Intercepting a flight of twenty-seven Japanese bomber planes approaching our transport area in the gulf, Lieutenant Kenyon shot into flames four medium bombers and damaged three others despite anti-aircraft fire and fighter opposition, thereby contributing materially to the success of our forces in that area. His superb airmanship and courageous devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

General Orders: Commander 7th Fleet: Serial 0815 (February 22, 1945)
Action Date: October 24, 1944

Sources

Photo 1: Renato Rodriguez
- Recipients of The Navy Cross, 1916 - Present, by C. Douglas Sterner - BioOne Online Journals
- Military Times Hall of Valor