Kendall Parker Smith

1924 - 2012  (87 years)

• Name	Kendall Parker Smith
  Nickname	Ken
  Birth	28 Jun 1924	Londonderry, New Hampshire, USA
  Gender	Male
  Occupation	1951	Londonderry, New Hampshire, USA
  	Police Officer
  Education	1965	University of Nebraska at Omaha
  	Bachelor's Degree
  Occupation	Military: World War II Korean War Vietnam War
  Death	11 Jan 2012	Londonderry, New Hampshire, USA
  Burial	Pine Grove Cemetery, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA
  Person ID	I59	The McIver Family Tree
  Last Modified	19 May 2021

  
  

  Family	Lorraine Simons,   b. 17 Sep 1925, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA d. 26 Dec 2003, Londonderry, New Hampshire, USA (Age 78 years)
  Marriage	17 Feb 1951
  Children	1. Living   2. Rhonda Paige Smith,   b. 29 Apr 1956, Greenville, South Carolina, USA d. 1 Mar 1995, Corralitos, California, USA (Age 38 years)  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth] + 3. Living
  Family ID	F573	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	3 Aug 2020

  
  

• Photos

  At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.

  
  

  Documents » Slide Show		Marriage Record - Lorraine Simons and Kendall Parker Smith Married on February 17, 1951 at First Congregational Church, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA.
  		Census - 1930 US Census - Londonderry, New Hampshire, USA
  		Document - Kendall Parker Smith WWII Registration Card

  
  

• Notes

  LONDONDERRY - Colonel Kendall Parker Smith, 87, of Londonderry, died Jan. 11, 2012, at his home. He was born June 28, 1924, the son of Cora (Lurvey) Smith and Fred H. Smith, and was part of the sixth generation of his family in Londonderry. He attended local schools and graduated from Pinkerton Academy in 1942. After completing a semester of college at the University of New Hampshire, he was drafted into the Army in 1943. Ken volunteered for training as an aviation cadet and became rated as a bombardier. He flew 25 bombing missions over Japan in a B-29 Superfortress, including the final daylight and night missions of the war. Post World War II, Ken mustered out of the Army Air Corps and became a Londonderry policeman. He later served in the State Police while continuing his studies. Two weeks after Ken married Lorraine Simons of Manchester on Feb. 17, 1951, he reported for duty at Mather Air Force Base in California, having been recalled to active duty for service in the Korean War. He flew 30 combat missions over North Korea in 1951 and 1952, again as a B-29 bombardier. Ken remained on active duty from 1951 until his retirement from the Air Force in 1973. He earned his pilot's rating in 1954, flew helicopters for five years, then transitioned to the C-130 Hercules for the remainder of his career. He flew more than 200 C-130 sorties during three combat tours in South East Asia during the Vietnam War. Ken was a patriot who loved the outdoors, horses, hunting, flying airplanes and the Red Sox. During his 25-year Air Force career, Ken was rated and qualified as an aerial gunner, bombardier, aircraft observer, command pilot and helicopter pilot. He logged almost 8,000 hours of military flying time, including 3,000 hours as a C-130 pilot, 1,500 hours as a helicopter pilot and 1,600 hours in combat during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Among his 23 individual and unit decorations are the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star, two Meritorious Service Medals and 12 Air Medals. Ken also earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1965. Ken's wife of nearly 53 years, Lorraine, predeceased him in 2003. His family includes their children, Karen Smith of Londonderry, Rhonda Smith, who died in 1995, Jeffrey Smith and his wife, Laura, of Dawson Springs, Ky.; their granddaughter, Amanda Moore; and great-grandson, Dylan Moore of Huntsville, Ala. Ken's sisters Dorothy Holton, Norma Kwist and Lois Ramsey, and his brother, Russell Smith, all predeceased him. (Union Leader 1/12/2012)