Kenneth Raymond Fleenor

Brigadier General Kenneth Raymond Fleenor (October 2, 1929 – December 10, 2010) was a senior officer in the United States Air Force. A prisoner of war in Vietnam, Fleenor served as Base Commander of Randolph Air Force Base in the late 1970s. He was also mayor of Selma, Texas after his military retirement.

Kenneth Raymond Fleenor
Born(1929-10-02)October 2, 1929
Bowling Green, Kentucky
DiedDecember 10, 2010(2010-12-10) (aged 81)
San Antonio, Texas
Buried
Holy Cross Cemetery
San Antonio, Texas
(29.60080°N 98.33750°W / 29.60080; -98.33750)
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchUnited States Air Force
Years of service1952–1980
RankBrigadier General
AwardsSilver Star
Legion of Merit (2)
Distinguished Flying Cross (2)
Bronze Star Medal (2)
Purple Heart (2)
Air Medal (8)
Air Force Commendation Medal (2)
Other workMayor of Selma, Texas (1987–94)

Early life and education

He was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Entering Western Kentucky University after his high school graduation, he earned a B.S. degree in agriculture in 1952 and was commissioned into the United States Air Force in January of that year through the ROTC. He was a 1958 graduate of the Squadron Officer School of Air University and a 1967 graduate of Armed Forces Staff College.[1]

Military career

His initial aviation training was at Bryan Air Force Base in Texas, where he received his aviator badge in 1953. Supplemental aviation instruction at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia and Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida qualified him to pilot the F-86 Sabre. He was briefly stationed at McGhee Tyson Airport in Tennessee before being deployed as a pilot with the 39th Flying Training Squadron to Japan in 1954 for a three-year tour of duty. During his service in Japan, he eventually rose to the position of flight commander.[1]

Fleenor was assigned to Laredo Air Force Base in 1957 where he was a flight instructor and flight commander. In a 1962 duty exchange with the United States Navy, he was sent to NAS Meridian in Mississippi and NAS Pensacola in Florida where he became qualified on the F-4 Phantom II. His training enabled him to help the Air Force integrate the F-4 into its inventory,[1] and he became part of a 1963 vanguard to establish F-4 combat training at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. When the Air Force subsequently established its first F-4 squadron in 1964 at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, Fleenor was put in charge as operations officer and squadron commander.[1]

Deployed to Vietnam in July 1967, his F-4 Phantom was shot down on December 17.[2] During his prisoner of war captivity in North Vietnam, he endured starvation and torture.[3] Upon his repatriation to the United States on March 14, 1973, he was stationed at Randolph Air Force Base as Instructor pilot, Wing Deputy Commander of Operations, Base Commander, Wing Commander, and Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Air Training Command.[1] He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General on July 1, 1978, and retired from the Air Force in 1980.[1]

Military awards

Fleenor was the recipient of numerous military awards.[4][1]

Silver Star
 Legion of Merit
Distinguished Flying Cross
 Bronze Star Medal with oak leaf cluster and "V" device
 Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster
 Air Medal with seven oak leaf clusters
 Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
 Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with "V" device and five oak leaf clusters.
Prisoner of War Medal

Post military career

After he retired from the military, he was elected to the city council of Selma, Texas in 1984 and served as mayor of Selma 1987–1994. He was regional coordinator of the Texans War on Drugs, and General Manager of the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. He also served on various corporate boards of directors in his retirement years.[5]

Personal life

Fleenor married Anne Elizabeth Read. They had five children. In 1997, Fleenor was inducted as a distinguished alumnus of Western Kentucky University.[6] Fleenor died December 10, 2010 and was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in San Antonio.[2] His wife died February 12, 2012 and is buried next to him.

In 2013, the base theater at Randolph Air Force Base was renamed the Fleenor Auditorium in his honor.[7]

References
  1. "Brigadier General Kenneth R. Fleenor". United States Air Force. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  2. Christenson, Sig (December 12, 2010). "Ex-POW 'found the good' in people". San Antonio Express News. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  3. "SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 180 In Memory of Kenneth Raymond Fleenor". State of Texas. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  4. "Kenneth R. Fleenor". Military Times. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  5. "Kenneth R. Fleenor". Bowling Green Daily News. March 16, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  6. "Brig. Gen. Kenneth R. Fleenor". Western Kentucky University Alumni Association. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  7. Huddleston, Scott. "Base theater renamed for former Vietnam War POW". San Antonio Express News. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
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