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MAJ Mark E Cooper
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Kean, William Benjamin, LTG.
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Contact Info
Home Town Buffalo
Last Address Winter Park, FL
Date of Passing Mar 10, 1981
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William Benjamin Kean
Lieutenant General
United States Army
He was born William Benjamin Kean, Jr., in Buffalo, New York on July 9, 1897. Kean graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1918 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry.
After receiving his commission, Kean was assigned to the U.S.M.A. as a student officer. He then carried out an observation tour of battlefronts in Italy, Belgium and France, and was an observer of the Allied occupation in Germany. In late 1919 he returned to the United States and completed the Infantry Officer Course at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Kean carried out numerous assignments of increasing rank and responsibility, including a posting to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. In 1925 he graduated from the Signal Officer Course, and in 1939 he was a graduate of the Command and General Staff College.
While with II Corps Kean played a role in the incident in which General George S. Patton was accused of slapping a soldier. After Bradley had investigated, he entrusted the only copy of the written report to Kean, who was directed not to show it to anyone without Bradley's permission.
During his assignment with First Army, Kean was one of the key planners of the D-Day invasion of Normandy.
In October 1950 the 25th Division participated in the breakout from the Pusan perimeter and drive into North Korea. In November, Chinese Communist troops crossed the Yalu River and pushed back United Nations. Kean's division carried out a systematic withdrawal and took up defensive positions, first on the south bank of the Chongchon River, and then south of Osan.
After planning and reorganization a new offensive was launched in January 1951. By February Inchon and Kimpo Air Base had been recaptured, the first of several successful assaults on the Chinese/North Korean force that helped turn the tide in the United Nation's favor.
Later in 1951 the 25th Division participated in Operation Ripper, driving the enemy across the Han River.
In Korea Kean, a supporter of integrating the military, assessed the all-black 24th Infantry Regiment, which was one of his subordinate commands, as being ineffective in early combat operations. The 24th Regiment largely reclaimed its reputation in later operations, but it was disbanded in October 1951 as part of the Army's effort to integrate, and its soldiers were assigned to other units.
In 1951 Kean was assigned to command the III Corps, first at Camp Roberts, California and later at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro. In October of that year he led a 5,000 man task force as it took part in an exercise at the Nevada Test Site. During this event, atomic weapons tests were conducted to measure the effects on military members in close proximity.
Kean's decorations included multiple awards of the Distinguished Service Medal, including two during World War II. He also received the Silver Star for heroism in the Korean War. In addition, Kean received multiple awards of the Legion of Merit, and was a recipient of the Bronze Star.
In October, 1954 Kean was appointed Executive Director of the Chicago Housing Authority. He remained in this position until 1957.
At the C.H.A., Kean was the subject of controversy for his emphasis on reducing vacancy rates over racial integration of the authority's housing projects.
After resigning from the housing authority, he moved to Florida, where he was employed as Public Relations Director for the Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater.
After retiring Kean lived in Belleair and Winter Park, Florida. He died in Winter Park on March 10, 1981.