Kenneth F. Dawalt – Brigadier General, United States Army

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From a contemporary press report:

Kenneth F. Dawalt, 89, an Army brigadier general who retired in 1970 as deputy chief of Army research and development for international programs, died December 15, 2000, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center after a heart attack.

General Dawalt served 34 years in the Army after his graduation from the U.S. Military Academy in 1936, and for much of his career he specialized in international research and development. As a member of the defense element of the U.S. delegation to NATO, he helped NATO countries reestablish and build research and development capabilities devastated by World War II.

From 1941 to 1945, he was an instructor, then assistant professor of physics at the academy in West Point, New York. He was assigned to the 8th U.S. Army headquarters in Japan during the military occupation after World War II.

During the Korean War, General Dawalt commanded an armored field artillery battalion in combat operations, and he received a Silver Star for gallantry. He also was awarded a Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, and on his retirement a Distinguished Service Medal.

General Dawalt, a resident of the Virginian retirement community in Fairfax, was born in Salem, Indiana, and attended Depauw University before enrolling at West Point, where he was basketball captain in the 1935-36 season.

During his military career, he commanded the 2nd Army Missile Command at Fort Carson, Colorado, and an artillery brigade in Okinawa. He graduated from the Army War College and the Command and General Staff College.

On retiring from the Army, he was the Washington-based vice president for six years of European Aerospace Corp., which is based in Paris.

General Dawalt had been a resident of the Washington area since 1963. He was an avid golfer and a member of the Army Navy Country Club.

For 15 years, he was an usher at Immanuel-on-the-Hill Episcopal Church in Alexandria.

Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Kathryn Dawalt of Fairfax; two daughters, Karie Nicholson of Houston and Karen Bayard Gould of Laguna Beach, Calif.; and a grandson.

DAWALT, KENNETH F., BG, USA (Ret.)

On Friday, December 15, 2000, at Walter Reed Medical Center, Washington, DC, KENNETH F. DAWALT of Fairfax, VA, beloved husband of Kathryn M. Dawalt; dear father of Karen Baynard Gould and Karie Nicholson. He is also survived by his son-in-law, Anthony Nicholson; and grandson, Ernest C. Baynard, IV. A funeral service will be held on Thursday, January 4, 2001, at the Old Post Chapel, Ft. Myer, at 1 p.m. Interment Arlington National Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Northern Virginia, 6565 Arlington Blvd., Suite 500, Falls Church, VA 22042.

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