Ret. Major Kineson "Ken" Jung

On June 16th, 2018, Kineson “Ken” Jung rejoined the elements of the Universe. He was blessed with a loving wife, Charito Reyes, one daughter, Kimberly Denise, and two sons, Keenan Lee and Jordan Matthew, both of whom he was very proud. He was also gifted with a grandson, Jaxson Dean. He was the third son of Chinese immigrants, Daniel and Lee Shee. His two older brothers were Newmoon Nolan and James Moser, and his two younger brothers were Lincoln and Walker. The oldest child was his sister, Mazelle. He grew up during the depression in the textile community of Kannapolis, North Carolina. He attended Davidson College, Catawba College, the University of North Carolina (UNC), and Southern Methodist University (SMU) and received degrees in Math, History, and Electrical Engineering.

He received a direct commission in the United States Air Force (USAF) as a Research and Development (R&D) Mathematician. He was stationed at Langley during Project Mercury and came to know several of the initial seven astronauts. He was an Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) student at SMU in Dallas, Texas, when John F. Kennedy was assassinated. During the India-Pakistan war, he commanded the USAF Talking Bird, which provided the command and control leading to the evacuation of U.S. dependents. He was involved in the acquisition, test, and evaluation of 407L systems, Tactical Satellite Communications, and the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS). He was advanced party to Cochabamba, Bolivia and Bogotá, Columbia for two of the annual Conference of the Chiefs of the Air Forces of the Americas. He was a Tactical Air Command liaison officer to SEA during the Vietnam War. He taught school at Max Bruner Junior Middle School and Choctawhatchee High School after retirement from the USAF and before civil service employment at Eglin AFB. As a civil servant and a member of the USAF Range System Program Office, he managed the acquisition of the Airborne Instrumentation Systems for its ACMI ranges (which was featured in the film Top Gun).

He enjoyed teaching and sports, especially tennis and table tennis. He coached the Bruner Blue girls’ softball team for several years, and he was deeply involved in the youth bowling programs at Hurlburt Lanes and FWB Bowl. He also enjoyed playing duplicate bridge on his downtime.

Ken lived well, laughed often, and loved much. He has finished the course, and the world is better having known him.
 

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