L. (Louis) Kenneth Christian

L. (Louis) Kenneth Christian was born on December 29, 1912 to Louis and Eva Cheesman Christian in Pullman, Washington.  He attended Pullman High School, graduating in 1931.  Christian attended Washington State College (WSC) intermittently between 1931 and 1937, pursuing a degree in Business Administration. He also worked with his father in the shoe repair business; the younger Christian was just one semester shy of receiving his Bachelor's degree when he left school to work full time. He married Esther Wilhelm of Colfax, Washington on July 18, 1937.  Christian was initially inducted into the Army National Guard in 1940, then enlisted in the U.S. Army at Fort Lewis on September 24, 1941 as a First Sergeant, Infantry. He served with the 25th Infantry Division, 161st Infantry Regiment and saw action on Guadalcanal.  Following the Guadalcanal campaign, Christian received his commission as a Second Lieutenant and was sent to the island of New Georgia in the Solomon Islands, the location of a key airfield the Japanese built at Munda. He will killed in action on July 27, 1943 at Bibilo Hill on New Georgia. He is buried at Manila American Cemetery in Manila, Philippines.