Kenneth Pierce French

Kenneth Pierce French was born on April 23, 1920, in Spokane, Washington. His father taught foreign languages for the public schools in Pullman, and French graduated from Pullman High School in 1938. He attended Washington State College (WSC) from 1938 to 1939 as a General Studies major. During the 1939 school year, he was a pledge for Phi Sigma Kappa and a member of the 1939 WSC Rifle Team. French worked for a confectionary company before enlisting in the Washington National Guard as a Sergeant on September 16, 1940. He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion, 161st Regiment, 25th Infantry Division in June 1941 at Fort Lewis, Washington. The 161st was on their to San Francisco when they heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, soon after they sailed for Oahu to help fortify the island against a potential second Japanese attack. French met Ruth Kanahale during his time in Hawaii, and they became engaged. French's 3rd Battalion served in Guadalcanal before heading to New Georgia in the Solomon Islands with the rest of the 161st on July 21, 1943. French received a superficial flesh wound to his right hand on Juy 24, but returned to duty immediately. On July 27, he led his company in an attack against Bartley's Ride and was hit in the chest by a bullet and died instantly.