Foil: 6 Panel: Distinguished Flying Cross Society Column: 4 Line: 20

Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:

KENNETH A. MARKS, enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps at the old age of 19. The date was Dec. 4, 1941, three days prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. On Dec. 7, the day that will live in infamy, he was receiving his shots for anything the medics had an antibiotic for, and was issued his first uniforms. The following week, the group he was in was advised they would not be given basic training, but would start aircraft mechanics school at Sheppard Field, TX. Upon completion of the schooling, he volunteered for Aerial Gunnery School and was shipped to Harlingen Field, TX. Upon graduation he was sent to Boise Field, ID, where he was assigned to a B-17 combat crew as assistant engineer/gunner. The crew took what was called combat training at Boise, ID; Alamogordo, NM; and Topeka, KS. In October 1942, they were sent to Fort Worth, TX to check out in B-24 aircraft and then to Nashville, TN to pick-up an aircraft and go overseas. The aircraft arrived in December and they were sent off to Florida for final check-ups and clothing.
On Christmas Day, 1942, his crew was ordered on their way. The trip to India was delayed when they had some hydraulic problems and wiped out their landing gear while landing at Belem, Brazil. After considerable delay, the crew was flown to the East Coast of Africa aboard a Pan Am clipper ship. After that they arrived at Pandaueshwar, India on April 1, 1943 and were assigned to the 7lh Bomb Group, 9lh Bomb Squadron.
He flew his first combat mission on April 6, with a crew whose top turret gunner was shot up on their last mission; he was the replacement. Marks flew six bombing missions with the 9th BS, never with his own crew. Finally the entire crew, with the exception of the co-pilot, was transferred to the 492mi BS. Lt. Kurth remained with the 9lh BS and was killed in action. His first pilot was shipped out after a few missions and they were without a pilot. From there they flew lots of combat missions with many different pilots. Eventually he checked out as a first engineer and continued to fly combat wherever he was assigned. Near the end of his tour, he was flying with all new combat crews, breaking them in on their first missions. Eventually he completed 59 combat missions, with 459 combat hours.
After completion of his bombing missions, he was assigned to fly aviation gasoline over The Hump to China (Kunming). He flew B-24Ds with fuel tanks installed in the bomb bays and P-40 fuel tanks stored in the fuselage. He flew 32 trips (16 round trips) over The Hump, and was finally relieved and sent to Karachi, India and joined the remaining members of his original crew for a delightful flight home.
During his tour with the 7lh BG he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with one oak leaf cluster, and the
Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters.
After WWII, he served 20 years in the USAF, and then joined an aerospace company for 14 years. He became a consultant in 1977 and is still a consultant with the same company. He is an honorable life member and past president of SAFE (Survival and Flight Equipment Association), and a life member and past national commander of the China-Burma-India Veterans Association.