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.
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Fact checker: Brittany Hawn
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We honor the service of Kenneth Joseph McBride.