James Kennedy, 85, veteran
DENVER - James Kennedy, who might have been one of the only veterans of the Army, Merchant Marine, Navy, and Army Air Forces, died last Sunday in the Littleton, Colo., home he shared with his wife, Helen, for 47 years. He was 85.
A World War II veteran, Mr. Kennedy’s youth was filled with adventure, heroics, and luck.
He was also one of the last surviving Army divers.
Mr. Kennedy was born in Rawlins, Wyo., and grew up in Colorado. He joined the Civilian Conservation Corps as a photographer earning $30 a month.
In early 1942, at his brother’s urging, Mr. Kennedy went to Washington state to work in the Bremerton Naval Shipyards, where he became a diver.
Afterward, Mr. Kennedy enlisted with the Merchant Marine. He knew his eyesight was bad, so, sitting in his skivvies while awaiting his physical, he memorized the eye chart.
After six months in the Merchant Marine, he was transferred to the Navy, but that service realized his eyesight was poor and sent him packing.
The Army was not so picky.
In 1946, he photographed US atomic-bomb tests at Bikini Atoll for the Army Air Forces.