#VeteranOfTheDay Army Air Corps Veteran Kenneth Joseph McBride

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Air Corps Veteran Kenneth Joseph McBride, who served during World War II from 1941 to 1945.

Kenneth Joseph McBride began his service in the Army Air Corps in 1941. He later became an airplane armorer and achieved the rank of staff sergeant.

During World War II, McBride served with Eighth Air Force, also known as the Mighty Eighth. Eighth Air Force was in mainly in charge of air combat in the European theater during World War II. He worked on P-38 Lightning, P-39 Airacobra, P-40 Warhawk and B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft. Airplane armorers maintained machine guns, cannons, bomb racks, bomb release mechanisms, gun mounts and gun turrets.

McBride also served in Iceland and England during his time in the Army Air Corps. The Army Air Corps discharged him in 1945.

For his service, McBride earned a Bronze Star Medal, the American Defense Service Medal with the Army Good Conduct Medal, the European, African, Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the Airplane Armorer Badge as well as the M-1 Carbine Marksman Badge.

After the War, McBride went on to work for the U.S. Post Office Department, which later became the U.S. Postal Service. He passed away in 1978 at the age of 70.

We honor his service.

Nominate a Veteran for #VeteranOfTheDay

Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? VA’s #VeteranOfTheDay social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.

It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. All it takes is an email to newmedia@va.gov with as much information as you can put together, along with some good photos. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission.

Contributors

Editor: Essence McPherson

Fact checker: Brittany Hawn

Graphic artist: Deanna Cannon