Service In Vietnam And At West Point: A Class of ’65 Engineer’s Service In War And Peace

Patrick Kenny was born in January 1941 in West Bend, Wisconsin, the youngest of six children. His older brother graduated from the Naval Academy in 1945. His father, an investment banker, enlisted during World War I, and ended his military service as a Second Lieutenant. His mother stayed at home to raise the children. Pat wanted to attend the Naval Academy, and applied to Naval ROTC, but discovering he was colorblind ended that aspiration. He was accepted to Marquette ROTC and later felt that the two-year academic preparation there “made a huge difference.” He entered West Point with the Class of 1965 and discovered that R-Day was “not that complicated” because there was no time in the schedule to resign. He sang with the Catholic Choir and the Glee Club, and he remembers several notable singing engagements in St. Louis, with a follow-on engagement at the Air Force Academy, and at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. He commissioned as an Engineer Officer because that “fit my capabilities.” His first assignment was in Germany. In 1967, he deployed to Vietnam with the 4th Infantry Division, where he served as the Aide-de-Camp to MG Charlie Duke, USMA 1939. While serving as Aide, he saw a lot of the country and improved his writing skills. He ran into classmate Pat O’Toole in the Mekong Delta. Next, Pat served as the Executive Officer of two companies and took Command of A Company, 326th Engineers. He gained experience with a bridging company and hauling materials from Qui Nhon to Pleiku to build Camp Enari, south of Pleiku in the Central Highlands. On the camp, his engineers built barracks, graded roads, and laid concrete floors for various buildings. Frequently, they worked with Seabees. He recalls having to send out squads to make “emergency LZs.” In 1969, he saw Bob Hope perform at Camp Eagle for Christmas. After returning from Vietnam in 1970, he applied to grad school. In 1975, he returned West Point as a Tactical Officer and was assigned to Company I-1. This was a pivotal time at the Academy. The cheating scandal involving the Class of ’77 came to light in the spring of 1976, and the first class with women arrived in the summer. General Goodpaster was brought back on active duty from retirement to serve as the Superintendent and guide the Academy through these challenging times. Pat was assigned as the Tac for those Cadets being investigated. When women arrived at USMA, Pat recalls some of the changes that needed to occur as they were integrated into the barracks and uniforms had to be modified. In 1985, he returned to West Point, this time as the 3rd Regimental Tactical Officer. He remembers this as a good time to be at the Academy because the integration of women into the Corps was complete, “cheating was behind us,” and his primary focus was ensuring the Cadets succeeded in academics. After his second tour at West Point, he served at the Headquarters of the Corps of Engineers in Washington, D.C., and at Fort Benning he served as the Director of Public Works. He also worked with the Columbus, Georgia, Chamber of Commerce and as the Director of Facilities at Mercer University. At the end of the interview, he discusses meeting his wife, who graduated from Ladycliff College (see the separate interview with Alice Galvin Kenny and Marilyn McCabe O’Donnell), and serving on the Admissions Board as a Regimental Tac, where he addressed issues in assessing Candidates who had college experience versus those coming straight from high school. He began attending class reunions with his class’s 45th Reunion, and he appreciates the friendships that grow because of the reunions. He feels that West Point is the “base for everything I’ve done since graduating.”