Fellow lieutenant says Kennedy exuded quiet self-confidence, served with untiring dedication
Published in the April 27 – May 10, 2016 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Staff Report
Edmund Adams
In 1964 during the height of the Cold War, Dennis Kennedy served in the U.S. Army as a first lieutenant on an air base in West Germany near the city of Kassel. Serving as a fellow lieutenant with him was Edmund Adams, now a retired corporate and business bankruptcy attorney in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Adams is the founder of the Sister Cities program in Cincinnati and currently is a director of Sister Cities International in Washington, D.C. He recalls Kennedy, the former Morgan Hill mayor who died last month at age 77, as a true leader during his time in the military, earning the respect of the American soldiers who served with him in Germany. Morgan Hill Life asked Adams for his recollections of Kennedy during that tense time between the Soviet Union and the United States.
What was Kennedy in charge of at the base and how effectively did he do his job?
We ran a HAWK Missile Battery, with 110 men and 36 anti-aircraft missiles, sited on an old Luftwaffe Air Base on a hilltop near the East German border, surrounded by ankle-deep mud. We officers had 24-hour duty several days a week, inter-spliced with 10-hour days. We were prepared to fire on 30-seconds notice in the event of a Soviet air attack. No one was shooting at us in those Cold War days but the duty was long, arduous and responsible, in the rain, sleet and snow of northern Germany.
What kind of leader was Dennis Kennedy in doing his job on the base and how well did he get along with the other soldiers?
Dennis was our battery executive officer, number two in command. He was a great officer, highly respected by the troops. He always was cool and collected, quick with his warm Irish smile. Except for the days when he was the duty officer, when he stayed all night, he was the last officer to leave each night. I retain the mental image of a weary Lt. Kennedy toiling away at his desk as we left. When Dennis rotated back to the United States for discharge, I succeeded him as battery exec, a paperwork intensive job. The transition was seamless. True to the engineer that he was, everything was in perfect order.
Is there one special story you might want to share briefly about your friendship with the man?
When I arrived at the battery, I was a recent law school grad. One look at the battery site on that grim January morning convinced me to head for Group Headquarters in Kaiserslautern seeking a cozy desk job. Notwithstanding that the battery already was short of officers and that it was to Dennis’s distinct disadvantage to lose me, he loaned me his sports car to drive to HQ. Group turned me down on the basis that I was needed more at the battery. And rightfully so.
It says a lot about Dennis that he put generosity above self-interest. That’s the kind of guy he was.
Both you and Kennedy later in life got involved with the Sister Cities International program for your respective communities. In your opinion, how might Kennedy have got involved in this program because of his Army days in Germany?
I suspect that Dennis and I were bitten by the same bug. The German people in the ’60s were incredibly welcoming to us G.I.s. They respected U.S. power and appreciated the sacrifice we were making to defend West Germany against potential Soviet aggression. The experience gave us a very positive attitude toward the people of another country. Sister Cities is citizen diplomacy, a people-to-people program. I can see readily how Dennis would have gravitated to it and what a wonderful citizen diplomat he would have made for Morgan Hill and his country.
What other thoughts might you have in describing Kennedy’s service to his country through his military career?
For many of us officers the responsibility we shouldered in Germany was a growing-up experience.
But Dennis had a lot less growing up to do than many of us. He seemed always to have everything under control. He exuded quiet self confidence. He served his country with great dedication. I’m very proud to have served with him and very sad to hear of his recent passing.
