Eulogy for Lt. Col. Alan Winfield Keenen (USAF, Ret.)
The only surviving child of C. Winfield and Anna Florence (nee Gray) Keenen, Alan Winfield Keenen was born Jan. 17, 1926 in the small Pennsylvania hamlet of Kennett Square.
Alan often told the story of racing out the door as a young boy whenever he heard a commercial airplane flying overhead on its approach to or from nearby Philadelphia. Aviation and airplanes became his first great passion; golf would become his second.
By the fall of 1941, young Alan had lost both his parents. He would not feel he belonged to a “family” again until he joined the military in 1944.
His childhood love of flying led to his enlistment in the U.S. Army Air Forces in Jan. 1944. Alan, then known as Sgt. Keenen, trained as an aerial gunner and became part of 1st/Lt. Laurence Lofgren’s B-24 crew. The nine men including Alan, Lt. Lofgren, Lt. Merlin Gaudet, Lt. George Sankey, T/Sgt. Wm. Clifton, T/Sgt. Melvin Solomon, S/Sgt. Bob Martinec, S/Sgt. Tom Davis, S/Sgt. and Joe Stalder shipped out in late October 1944 arriving 2 weeks later at Bungay Airfield in England becoming part of the 446th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force.
The crew flew most of their 25 missions on the B-24 “Bangin’ Lulu”, S/Sgt. Keenen serving as the tail-gunner. On March 24, 1945, the crew and their substitute B-24 aircraft, "Queen of Angels", dropped supplies to American and British troops over the area near Wesel, Germany as part of Operation Varsity.
Seconds after dropping their supply bundles from an altitude of only 300 ft., the aircraft was hit by ground artillery. Shrapnel ripped through the oxygen, fuel and hydraulic lines igniting a fierce fire on-board and destroying the # 3 engine. From the bomb bay forward, Alan could see nothing but flames. He was able to help the only other crewman in the aft of the plane bail out of the aircraft. Sadly, Joe Stalder was shot by a sniper before landing. As Dad prepared to bail out himself, he pulled the ripcord while still IN the aircraft (and all through his life, never understood why he did that), then an on-board explosion literally knocked him off his feet and he fell out of the burning aircraft 100 ft. above the ground. Although his chest-pack parachute opened enough that it did slow his descent, he landed hard, breaking his right ankle and was immediately captured by the Germans. He spent the remainder of the war as a POW at Stalag Luft I in northern Germany.
After the war, he attended the University of Illinois majoring in mechanical engineering, but his love of flying never left him. At the end of his sophomore year, he made the decision to apply to the USAF cadet program in 1948 and was accepted. While at the Univ. of Illinois he met and fell in love with Dawn Rutherford of Chicago. They were married in Dec. 1949 and remained married for 49 years until her passing in 1998.
Alan went on to become a United States Air Force bomber command pilot; piloting B-29s, B-50s, B-47s and B-52s; the B-47 being the aircraft he loved flying the most.
Both sides of Alan’s families, the Keenens and the Grays, have a long tradition of military service dating back to the mid-1700’s. 14 generational great-grandfathers fought in the American Revolutionary War, one serving under General George Washington and another fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill. His great grandfather was a colonel in the Union Army and his father served in the U.S. Navy on a submarine chaser during WWI.
Although Alan loved sharing many of his military adventures with friends and family, he was not a braggart, especially when it came to his military service. He was very proud of his service to his county, but never boasted about any of the honors bestowed upon him.
At the close of Lt/Col. Keenen's military career with the 8th Air Force, he had been awarded numerous medals and commendations. A few of those included:
The Presidential Unit Citation
Air Force Commendation Medal w/1 oak leaf cluster
The Air Medal w/4 oak leaf clusters
The Purple Heart
The POW Medal
and he was a member of the “Caterpillar Club”
After a distinguished 20 year career, Alan retired as a Lt. Col. in 1967 and the family settled in Clearwater were he and our mom, raised their five children.
Described as “a very good man with a strong and sometimes, difficult personality”; no one ever had to guess what was on his mind. But make no mistake; Alan dearly loved his family, his country, flying and a good game of golf ~ reluctantly putting his Ping golf clubs away at age 83.
He ran the 100 yd. dash in 9.9 sec. while at West Chester High School, collected coins, once danced with Ava Gardner at an officer's club and sat next to Lauren Bacall at a bull fight in Spain.
His family has no doubt Alan's crewmates from the “Bangin’ Lulu” were all gathered to welcome him home on July 26th…. Perhaps greeting him with these words, “To fly west, my friend, is the final flight we all must take… It is now time for you to rest.”
The only surviving child of C. Winfield and Anna Florence (nee Gray) Keenen, Alan Winfield Keenen was born Jan. 17, 1926 in the small Pennsylvania hamlet of Kennett Square.
Alan often told the story of racing out the door as a young boy whenever he heard a commercial airplane flying overhead on its approach to or from nearby Philadelphia. Aviation and airplanes became his first great passion; golf would become his second.
By the fall of 1941, young Alan had lost both his parents. He would not feel he belonged to a “family” again until he joined the military in 1944.
His childhood love of flying led to his enlistment in the U.S. Army Air Forces in Jan. 1944. Alan, then known as Sgt. Keenen, trained as an aerial gunner and became part of 1st/Lt. Laurence Lofgren’s B-24 crew. The nine men including Alan, Lt. Lofgren, Lt. Merlin Gaudet, Lt. George Sankey, T/Sgt. Wm. Clifton, T/Sgt. Melvin Solomon, S/Sgt. Bob Martinec, S/Sgt. Tom Davis, S/Sgt. and Joe Stalder shipped out in late October 1944 arriving 2 weeks later at Bungay Airfield in England becoming part of the 446th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force.
The crew flew most of their 25 missions on the B-24 “Bangin’ Lulu”, S/Sgt. Keenen serving as the tail-gunner. On March 24, 1945, the crew and their substitute B-24 aircraft, "Queen of Angels", dropped supplies to American and British troops over the area near Wesel, Germany as part of Operation Varsity.
Seconds after dropping their supply bundles from an altitude of only 300 ft., the aircraft was hit by ground artillery. Shrapnel ripped through the oxygen, fuel and hydraulic lines igniting a fierce fire on-board and destroying the # 3 engine. From the bomb bay forward, Alan could see nothing but flames. He was able to help the only other crewman in the aft of the plane bail out of the aircraft. Sadly, Joe Stalder was shot by a sniper before landing. As Dad prepared to bail out himself, he pulled the ripcord while still IN the aircraft (and all through his life, never understood why he did that), then an on-board explosion literally knocked him off his feet and he fell out of the burning aircraft 100 ft. above the ground. Although his chest-pack parachute opened enough that it did slow his descent, he landed hard, breaking his right ankle and was immediately captured by the Germans. He spent the remainder of the war as a POW at Stalag Luft I in northern Germany.
After the war, he attended the University of Illinois majoring in mechanical engineering, but his love of flying never left him. At the end of his sophomore year, he made the decision to apply to the USAF cadet program in 1948 and was accepted. While at the Univ. of Illinois he met and fell in love with Dawn Rutherford of Chicago. They were married in Dec. 1949 and remained married for 49 years until her passing in 1998.
Alan went on to become a United States Air Force bomber command pilot; piloting B-29s, B-50s, B-47s and B-52s; the B-47 being the aircraft he loved flying the most.
Both sides of Alan’s families, the Keenens and the Grays, have a long tradition of military service dating back to the mid-1700’s. 14 generational great-grandfathers fought in the American Revolutionary War, one serving under General George Washington and another fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill. His great grandfather was a colonel in the Union Army and his father served in the U.S. Navy on a submarine chaser during WWI.
Although Alan loved sharing many of his military adventures with friends and family, he was not a braggart, especially when it came to his military service. He was very proud of his service to his county, but never boasted about any of the honors bestowed upon him.
At the close of Lt/Col. Keenen's military career with the 8th Air Force, he had been awarded numerous medals and commendations. A few of those included:
The Presidential Unit Citation
Air Force Commendation Medal w/1 oak leaf cluster
The Air Medal w/4 oak leaf clusters
The Purple Heart
The POW Medal
and he was a member of the “Caterpillar Club”
After a distinguished 20 year career, Alan retired as a Lt. Col. in 1967 and the family settled in Clearwater were he and our mom, raised their five children.
Described as “a very good man with a strong and sometimes, difficult personality”; no one ever had to guess what was on his mind. But make no mistake; Alan dearly loved his family, his country, flying and a good game of golf ~ reluctantly putting his Ping golf clubs away at age 83.
He ran the 100 yd. dash in 9.9 sec. while at West Chester High School, collected coins, once danced with Ava Gardner at an officer's club and sat next to Lauren Bacall at a bull fight in Spain.
His family has no doubt Alan's crewmates from the “Bangin’ Lulu” were all gathered to welcome him home on July 26th…. Perhaps greeting him with these words, “To fly west, my friend, is the final flight we all must take… It is now time for you to rest.”
Eulogy for Lt. Col. Alan Winfield Keenen (USAF, Ret.)
The only surviving child of C. Winfield and Anna Florence (nee Gray) Keenen, Alan Winfield Keenen was born Jan. 17, 1926 in the small Pennsylvania hamlet of Kennett Square.
Alan often told the story of racing out the door as a young boy whenever he heard a commercial airplane flying overhead on its approach to or from nearby Philadelphia. Aviation and airplanes became his first great passion; golf would become his second.
By the fall of 1941, young Alan had lost both his parents. He would not feel he belonged to a “family” again until he joined the military in 1944.
His childhood love of flying led to his enlistment in the U.S. Army Air Forces in Jan. 1944. Alan, then known as Sgt. Keenen, trained as an aerial gunner and became part of 1st/Lt. Laurence Lofgren’s B-24 crew. The nine men including Alan, Lt. Lofgren, Lt. Merlin Gaudet, Lt. George Sankey, T/Sgt. Wm. Clifton, T/Sgt. Melvin Solomon, S/Sgt. Bob Martinec, S/Sgt. Tom Davis, S/Sgt. and Joe Stalder shipped out in late October 1944 arriving 2 weeks later at Bungay Airfield in England becoming part of the 446th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force.
The crew flew most of their 25 missions on the B-24 “Bangin’ Lulu”, S/Sgt. Keenen serving as the tail-gunner. On March 24, 1945, the crew and their substitute B-24 aircraft, "Queen of Angels", dropped supplies to American and British troops over the area near Wesel, Germany as part of Operation Varsity.
Seconds after dropping their supply bundles from an altitude of only 300 ft., the aircraft was hit by ground artillery. Shrapnel ripped through the oxygen, fuel and hydraulic lines igniting a fierce fire on-board and destroying the # 3 engine. From the bomb bay forward, Alan could see nothing but flames. He was able to help the only other crewman in the aft of the plane bail out of the aircraft. Sadly, Joe Stalder was shot by a sniper before landing. As Dad prepared to bail out himself, he pulled the ripcord while still IN the aircraft (and all through his life, never understood why he did that), then an on-board explosion literally knocked him off his feet and he fell out of the burning aircraft 100 ft. above the ground. Although his chest-pack parachute opened enough that it did slow his descent, he landed hard, breaking his right ankle and was immediately captured by the Germans. He spent the remainder of the war as a POW at Stalag Luft I in northern Germany.
After the war, he attended the University of Illinois majoring in mechanical engineering, but his love of flying never left him. At the end of his sophomore year, he made the decision to apply to the USAF cadet program in 1948 and was accepted. While at the Univ. of Illinois he met and fell in love with Dawn Rutherford of Chicago. They were married in Dec. 1949 and remained married for 49 years until her passing in 1998.
Alan went on to become a United States Air Force bomber command pilot; piloting B-29s, B-50s, B-47s and B-52s; the B-47 being the aircraft he loved flying the most.
Both sides of Alan’s families, the Keenens and the Grays, have a long tradition of military service dating back to the mid-1700’s. 14 generational great-grandfathers fought in the American Revolutionary War, one serving under General George Washington and another fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill. His great grandfather was a colonel in the Union Army and his father served in the U.S. Navy on a submarine chaser during WWI.
Although Alan loved sharing many of his military adventures with friends and family, he was not a braggart, especially when it came to his military service. He was very proud of his service to his county, but never boasted about any of the honors bestowed upon him.
At the close of Lt/Col. Keenen's military career with the 8th Air Force, he had been awarded numerous medals and commendations. A few of those included:
The Presidential Unit Citation
Air Force Commendation Medal w/1 oak leaf cluster
The Air Medal w/4 oak leaf clusters
The Purple Heart
The POW Medal
and he was a member of the “Caterpillar Club”
After a distinguished 20 year career, Alan retired as a Lt. Col. in 1967 and the family settled in Clearwater were he and our mom, raised their five children.
Described as “a very good man with a strong and sometimes, difficult personality”; no one ever had to guess what was on his mind. But make no mistake; Alan dearly loved his family, his country, flying and a good game of golf ~ reluctantly putting his Ping golf clubs away at age 83.
He ran the 100 yd. dash in 9.9 sec. while at West Chester High School, collected coins, once danced with Ava Gardner at an officer's club and sat next to Lauren Bacall at a bull fight in Spain.
His family has no doubt Alan's crewmates from the “Bangin’ Lulu” were all gathered to welcome him home on July 26th…. Perhaps greeting him with these words, “To fly west, my friend, is the final flight we all must take… It is now time for you to rest.”
The only surviving child of C. Winfield and Anna Florence (nee Gray) Keenen, Alan Winfield Keenen was born Jan. 17, 1926 in the small Pennsylvania hamlet of Kennett Square.
Alan often told the story of racing out the door as a young boy whenever he heard a commercial airplane flying overhead on its approach to or from nearby Philadelphia. Aviation and airplanes became his first great passion; golf would become his second.
By the fall of 1941, young Alan had lost both his parents. He would not feel he belonged to a “family” again until he joined the military in 1944.
His childhood love of flying led to his enlistment in the U.S. Army Air Forces in Jan. 1944. Alan, then known as Sgt. Keenen, trained as an aerial gunner and became part of 1st/Lt. Laurence Lofgren’s B-24 crew. The nine men including Alan, Lt. Lofgren, Lt. Merlin Gaudet, Lt. George Sankey, T/Sgt. Wm. Clifton, T/Sgt. Melvin Solomon, S/Sgt. Bob Martinec, S/Sgt. Tom Davis, S/Sgt. and Joe Stalder shipped out in late October 1944 arriving 2 weeks later at Bungay Airfield in England becoming part of the 446th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force.
The crew flew most of their 25 missions on the B-24 “Bangin’ Lulu”, S/Sgt. Keenen serving as the tail-gunner. On March 24, 1945, the crew and their substitute B-24 aircraft, "Queen of Angels", dropped supplies to American and British troops over the area near Wesel, Germany as part of Operation Varsity.
Seconds after dropping their supply bundles from an altitude of only 300 ft., the aircraft was hit by ground artillery. Shrapnel ripped through the oxygen, fuel and hydraulic lines igniting a fierce fire on-board and destroying the # 3 engine. From the bomb bay forward, Alan could see nothing but flames. He was able to help the only other crewman in the aft of the plane bail out of the aircraft. Sadly, Joe Stalder was shot by a sniper before landing. As Dad prepared to bail out himself, he pulled the ripcord while still IN the aircraft (and all through his life, never understood why he did that), then an on-board explosion literally knocked him off his feet and he fell out of the burning aircraft 100 ft. above the ground. Although his chest-pack parachute opened enough that it did slow his descent, he landed hard, breaking his right ankle and was immediately captured by the Germans. He spent the remainder of the war as a POW at Stalag Luft I in northern Germany.
After the war, he attended the University of Illinois majoring in mechanical engineering, but his love of flying never left him. At the end of his sophomore year, he made the decision to apply to the USAF cadet program in 1948 and was accepted. While at the Univ. of Illinois he met and fell in love with Dawn Rutherford of Chicago. They were married in Dec. 1949 and remained married for 49 years until her passing in 1998.
Alan went on to become a United States Air Force bomber command pilot; piloting B-29s, B-50s, B-47s and B-52s; the B-47 being the aircraft he loved flying the most.
Both sides of Alan’s families, the Keenens and the Grays, have a long tradition of military service dating back to the mid-1700’s. 14 generational great-grandfathers fought in the American Revolutionary War, one serving under General George Washington and another fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill. His great grandfather was a colonel in the Union Army and his father served in the U.S. Navy on a submarine chaser during WWI.
Although Alan loved sharing many of his military adventures with friends and family, he was not a braggart, especially when it came to his military service. He was very proud of his service to his county, but never boasted about any of the honors bestowed upon him.
At the close of Lt/Col. Keenen's military career with the 8th Air Force, he had been awarded numerous medals and commendations. A few of those included:
The Presidential Unit Citation
Air Force Commendation Medal w/1 oak leaf cluster
The Air Medal w/4 oak leaf clusters
The Purple Heart
The POW Medal
and he was a member of the “Caterpillar Club”
After a distinguished 20 year career, Alan retired as a Lt. Col. in 1967 and the family settled in Clearwater were he and our mom, raised their five children.
Described as “a very good man with a strong and sometimes, difficult personality”; no one ever had to guess what was on his mind. But make no mistake; Alan dearly loved his family, his country, flying and a good game of golf ~ reluctantly putting his Ping golf clubs away at age 83.
He ran the 100 yd. dash in 9.9 sec. while at West Chester High School, collected coins, once danced with Ava Gardner at an officer's club and sat next to Lauren Bacall at a bull fight in Spain.
His family has no doubt Alan's crewmates from the “Bangin’ Lulu” were all gathered to welcome him home on July 26th…. Perhaps greeting him with these words, “To fly west, my friend, is the final flight we all must take… It is now time for you to rest.”
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