Koons, Kenneth, PO3

Fallen

Service Photo

Service Details

Last Rank
Gunner's Mate 3rd Class

Last Primary NEC
GM-0000-Gunner's Mate

Last Rating/NEC Group
Gunner's Mate

Primary Unit
1942-1943, USS Helena (CL-50)

Service Years
1942 - 1943

Last Photo

Personal Details

Home Country

United States

This Military Service Page was created/owned by Shaun Thomas (Underdog), OSC to remember Koons, Kenneth, PO3.

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Casualty Info

Casualty Date Jul 06, 1943
Cause MIA-Finding of Death	Reason Artillery, Rocket, Mortar
Location Solomon Islands	Conflict World War II/Asiatic-Pacific Theater/Northern Solomon Islands Campaign (1943-44)/Battle of Kula Gulf

Official Badges

Unofficial Badges

Military Associations and Other Affiliations

Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States

United States Navy Cruiser Sailors Association


	1941, Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States
	1943, United States Navy Cruiser Sailors Association - Assoc. Page
	1945, Military Order of World Wars (MOWW)

Ribbon Bar

Unit Assignments

HQ, RTC Great Lakes, IL (Company Commander/Staff)


	1942-1942, HQ, RTC Great Lakes, IL (Company Commander/Staff)
	1942-1942, GM-0000, SSC (Cadre/Staff) Great Lakes, ILL
	1942-1943, USS Helena (CL-50)

Combat and Non-Combat Operations


	1942-1942 World War II/American Theater
	1942-1942 World War II/American Theater
	1942-1943 World War II/Asiatic-Pacific Theater/Guadalcanal Campaign (1942-43)
	1942-1942 Guadalcanal Campaign (1942-43)/Battle of Cape Esperance
	1943-1943 World War II/Asiatic-Pacific Theater
	1943-1943 World War II/American Theater
	1943-1943 World War II/Asiatic-Pacific Theater/New Georgia Campaign (1943)
	1943-1943 Northern Solomon Islands Campaign (1943-44)/Battle of Kula Gulf

Additional Information

Last Known Activity:

USS Helena (CL-50) was a St. Louis-class light cruiser of the United States Navy, damaged in the attack on Pearl Harbor, and subsequently active in the Pacific War until she was sunk at the battle of Kula Gulf in 1943. Helena was the first ship to be awarded the Navy Unit Commendation.
Helena, the second Navy ship named after the city of Helena, Montana, was launched 27 August 1939 by the New York Navy Yard, sponsored by Miss Elinor Carlyle Gudger, granddaughter of Senator Thomas J. Welch of Montana, and commissioned 18 September 1939, Captain Max B. Demott in command.

Career (US)
Uss Helena in the South Pacific, 1943 (note: radar antennas have been brushed out by censors)
Name:	Helena
Namesake:	Helena, Montana
Builder:	New York Navy Yard
Laid down:	1936-12-09
Launched:	1939-08-27
Commissioned:	1939-09-18
Fate:	Sunk, Battle of Kula Gulf, 1943-07-06
General characteristics
Class and type:	St. Louis class light cruiser
Displacement:	10,000 tons
Length:	608.3 feet (185 m)
Beam:	61.7 ft (18.8 m)
Draft:	19.8 ft (6.0 m)
Speed:	33 knots
Complement:	888 officers and enlisted men
Armament:	15×6 inch 8×5 inch 8×12 mm