{"id":726,"date":"2018-04-02T19:14:41","date_gmt":"2018-04-02T19:14:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/toddshistory.com\/?p=726"},"modified":"2018-04-03T03:57:02","modified_gmt":"2018-04-03T03:57:02","slug":"jack-kennedy-ken-doran-jr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toddshistory.com\/?p=726","title":{"rendered":"JACK KENNEDY (‘KEN’) DORAN, JR. – PROMISES WERE MADE AND BROKEN, ORDERS WERE MADE AND THEN DELAYED, AND HE’S THANKFUL IT TURNED OUT THAT WAY"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Ken Doran 1968<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Ken Doran 1918<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

PROMISES WERE MADE AND BROKEN, ORDERS WERE MADE AND THEN DELAYED, AND HE\u2019S THANKFUL IT TURNED OUT THAT WAY<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

By Todd Blomerth<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hundreds of young soldiers sat in the hot bleachers. They were beginning the 173rd<\/sup> Airborne Brigade\u2019s two week jungle school at An Khe, Vietnam. The training sergeant eyed the newly-arrived men. \u201cLook to the man on your left,\u201d he shouted. \u201cNow to the man on your right. Now look to the man in front of you. Now to the back. Only one of you will come back from Vietnam just the way you got here.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Ken recounted this, his voice and countenance changed noticeably. The sergeant was wrong. No one who experienced combat and field operations in Vietnam returned home unchanged.<\/p>\n

. Ken\u2019s mother, Malou King, was a Mississippi farm girl. His father, \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a>the son of a West Texas sheep rancher, was a Fightin\u2019 Texas Aggie, Class of 1940. The two met in Little Rock, Arkansas. Jack Kennedy Doran, Sr. flew B-29 Superfortress bombers out of India and later the Pacific during World War II and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. His family is quite rightly proud of his service to his country. After the war, he joined his family\u2019s farming operation in Midland, TX and also contracted as a civil engineer with various companies in West Texas. Jack Kennedy \u201cKen\u201d Doran, Jr. was born in Midland, Texas on April 4, 1947. \u00a0Ken and his older brother Russell went to school in Midland, San Antonio and Houston, settling in Corsicana, Texas where Jack Sr. owned a Phillips 66 distributorship.<\/p>\n

Corsicana was by Ken\u2019s account, a great place to grow into adulthood. He\u00a0lettered in basketball and enrolled at Texas A&M in the fall of 1965.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 fish Doran \u2013 A&M – 1965<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Studying didn\u2019t agree with Ken. With dreadful grades, \u201cI was invited not to come back,\u201d he told me jokingly. He made another stab at it, taking courses at Navarro County Junior College, but clearly, Ken wasn\u2019t ready yet to finish his college education.<\/p>\n

Ready or not, the Army was ready for him.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to explain the choices, or lack thereof, available to draft-age men in the late 1960s. The United States was embroiled in a seemingly never-ending war in Southeast Asia. Enlistment or being drafted into the military often resulted in a tour of duty in the war zone of Vietnam.<\/p>\n

Ken was, and is, a very patriotic American, Young and seemingly invincible, he wanted to help his country in its war. Not only that, he wanted to do it as a helicopter pilot \u2013 an incredibly dangerous occupation with a very high casualty rate.<\/p>\n

To speed the process along, he reckoned that if he had to serve, he\u2019d enlist rather than wait to be drafted. Off he went to \u201cTigerland,\u201d Fort Polk, Louisiana. It was common knowledge that, if you scored well on your initial testing, and if you were in excellent physical shape, you could apply for Officer Candidate School, and Army Flight School, while you were taking Infantry Basic Training and Advanced Infantry Training (AIT). Ken was a fit in both categories.<\/p>\n

Here, the Army threw its first monkey wrench into his plans. While in basic, a young 2nd<\/sup> lieutenant told Ken, \u201cYou can\u2019t go to OCS. You don\u2019t have a college degree.\u201d The shavetail was totally wrong. Being a new recruit, Ken didn\u2019t know it, and opted for another route toward his dream of flying helicopters. Scurrying around amid the time constraints of basic training, Ken somehow managed to complete his application and physical for Flight School. Successful completion of that school meant a commission as a Warrant Officer, a single-track specialty officer, and getting to fly. Things were looking up. Surely, upon completion of AIT, he\u2019d be on his way to the Army\u2019s helicopter flight school at Fort Wolters, Texas.<\/p>\n

Instead, Ken wound up at Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia. Three \u2018fun\u2019 weeks went by; he earned his jump wings, but still no orders. Where were they?<\/p>\n

Army Special Forces are an elite fighting force. Figuring the Army had ignored his request for flight school, Ken had the opportunity to go to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and vie for the coveted Green Beret. However, he and his girlfriend at the time were supposed to be in a wedding back in Corsicana. \u201cIf I sign up for Special Forces training, will I get any time off?\u201d \u201cOh no,\u201d said an instructor. \u201cThe class starts immediately.\u201d Ken decided against signing up for the Special Forces\u2019 program. After jump school, he went home to be in the wedding, and later received an infamous \u201cDear John\u201d letter. In Vietnam, he ran into someone who had volunteered for Special Forces training. \u201cTurns out,\u201d Ken told me, \u201cthe guys got to Fort Bragg, and were given thirty days leave, as there were no classes starting at that time!\u201d \u00a0The Army had thrown him another curve ball.<\/p>\n

Still waiting for the elusive orders for flight school, he received his next set of orders. He was assigned to the 173rd<\/sup> Airborne Brigade. PFC Ken Doran was going to Vietnam. As an airborne infantryman.<\/p>\n

Pfc Doran and hundreds of young men flew from McCord Air Force Base, through Anchorage and Japan. As the jet banked toward a landing at Cam Ranh Bay, he thought to himself, \u201cWhat have I gotten into?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In-country, the men were processed, given one week of acclimatization and \u2018culture school.\u2019 He loaded onto a C-123 transport that took him to An Khe. The aircraft landed at an old \u201cshot-up\u201d French airfield. Then two weeks of jungle school began. \u201cWe learned how to use claymore mines and improvised explosives. We learned how to make and detect booby traps, and call in air strikes. If necessary, a Pfc could even call in a B-52 strike.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ken\u2019s arrival with the unit was fortuitous. The North Vietnamese Tet \"\"<\/a>offensive of January 1968 had been a bloody tactical disaster for the NVA and VC. However, it had proved a propaganda success with the American public. Shocked at the growing number of American deaths (there would be over 14,000 in 1968), President Lyndon Johnson replaced his military leadership in Vietnam, refused to substantially increase the number of American troops, and told the South Vietnam leaders they needed to start carrying a heavier load in the war. The 173rd<\/sup> was a proud outfit that has seen several nasty battles in 1967 and early 1968. It had badly mauled the enemy, but in the process had taken substantial casualties. Hill 882, Dak To, and Hill 875 became synonymous with death and destruction. Its combat effectiveness reduced, the 173rd was re-located to a \u2018quieter\u2019 zone of combat just before Ken\u2019s arrival.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
173rd Airborne Brigade on an operation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, in March 1968 when he arrived, \u201ceveryone was still jumpy from Tet,\u201d Ken recalled. \u00a0He was sent to a combat battalion at Bong Son in Binh Dinh Province. Three weeks of\u00a0 operations ensued, including avoiding an ambush that had troops scurrying to avoid incoming mortar fire. Then suddenly, one<\/em> set of orders caught up with him. A sergeant told him, \u201cYou\u2019ve got orders to report back to headquarters at An Khe. You weren\u2019t supposed to be here.\u201d Combat infantryman Doran found out he\u2019d been assigned as a pay clerk.<\/p>\n

This was a great opportunity to avoid combat zones, stay safe, and ride out the remaining eleven months in-country. Ken chose a different route. The finance officer sought out volunteers to take Military Pay Currency (MPC, or \u2018scrip\u2019) to the soldiers at outposts. Loading up \u2018monopoly money\u2019 in plastic bags which were stuffed in rucksacks and fatigue pants pockets, he\u2019d head to the airfield, catch a flight on a chopper or Caribou to fire bases. \u201cYou were a celebrity when you showed up with \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 money,\u201d he laughed. Sitting on an ammo crate, Ken would disburse MPC to troopers.<\/p>\n

Often, it wasn\u2019t that simple. Ken would arrive ready to pay troops, only to find they were loading on choppers for combat operations. \u201cI wasn\u2019t supposed to be there,\u201d he recalls, \u201cbut I\u2019d go with them so they\u2019d get their money. Then I\u2019d start looking for a ride back to headquarters.\u201d I asked Ken why he took the chances. He thought about it a moment and said, \u201cI felt obligated. In a way I felt I was supposed to be out there with those guys to begin with.\u201d His insistence on taking care of his fellow soldiers, and repeated travels to outposts and firebases earned Ken a Bronze Star<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The time in Vietnam wasn\u2019t all life-and-death. He was able to take an R&R to Australia, and somehow, wrangle time off at Christmas to visit his older brother Russell, who was stationed at Okinawa with the Air Force. He still marvels at the \u201cloosey goosey\u201d way he was able to hop rides on helicopters and transport aircraft flying around the country virtually unaccounted for.<\/p>\n

Remember Ken\u2019s orders for flight school? They caught up with him shortly after he arrived in Vietnam. Once again, someone threw a monkey wrench into the gears. \u201cYou have to finish your one year tour before<\/em><\/strong> you can go back to the States for helicopter school.\u201d Turns out, the sergeant that told him that was wrong also. Shortly before Ken\u2019s tour ended someone finally <\/em><\/strong>got it right. \u201cYou don\u2019t need to serve out your tour here,\u201d said a noncom who knew what he was talking about. \u201cI\u2019ll get your orders cut right now and get you sent back.\u201d Ken passed on the chance. It was time to go home.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Ken in Vietnam<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Spec 5 Doran finished his military service at Fort Hood, Texas as a finance clerk with the 2nd<\/sup> Armored Division and discharged on June 19, 1970. He turned down $9000 in re-up bonus money, and re-enrolled in college. Ken Doran graduated from Texas A&M in 1972.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, things haven\u2019t been quite as exciting since he finished his military service. They have been very fulfilling, however. He met a beautiful U.T. student visiting her mother in Corsicana. He and Gail McElwrath married on December 29, 1970. They are the proud parents of three exceptional sons. Alex, older by five minutes than twin brother Jack Kennedy III (\u201cTres\u201d), is an FBI agent. Tres is a CPA with KPMG. Major Casey Doran is a helicopter pilot and flew Marine One during President Obama\u2019s terms of office. Casey also served two tours of duty in Iraq.<\/p>\n

Ken went into banking, working at various levels within the Farm Credit System, first with a Production Credit Association in Mexia, Texas, and then with Farm Credit Administration in Washington D.C, the Farm Credit Banks in Wichita,<\/p>\n

Kansas and finally with Texas Ag Finance in Robstown, Texas.. He earned a Masters degree in agricultural banking from Texas A&M in 1975. He and Gail came to Lockhart in 2004, when he accepted the position of branch president of American National (later Sage) Bank. He also operated the Lockhart branch of Camino Real Bank for three years, then \u2018retired\u2019 briefly. He was coaxed out of retirement, resuming his role as branch president at Sage National Bank, retiring for good in 2014.<\/p>\n

While living in the Corpus Christi area, Ken served on the Calallen ISD school board. His encounters with a demanding coach in Corsicana gave him a strong sense of empathy for students. \u201cWe only have one shot at these kids,\u201d he told me. \u201cKids can be at the mercy of those in power. We have to make sure they are given every opportunity to excel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ken Doran\u2019s life has hardly come to a halt. He and Gail have nine grandchildren and are quite active in their lives. The couple is heavily involved in the community of First Lockhart Baptist Church. Ken attended men\u2019s Bible studies with the non-denominational Bible Study Fellowship for several years, and continues with his study of the Bible with a men\u2019s group that meets at Emmanuel Episcopal Church on Monday nights. Ken is on the Lockhart Kiwanis Club\u2019s ramp building team, which undertakes at least one project a month. He also a co-organizer of the Gig \u2018Em \u2013 Hook ‘Em golf tournament. This annual event earns substantial scholarships for Caldwell County students attending A&M and UT.<\/p>\n

A few more things: Ken\u2019s got a wicked sense of humor, a keen wit, and wisdom that many of his compadres are envious of.<\/p>\n

Lockhart is blessed to have him and Gail in our community.<\/p>\n

BTW, Ken chose not <\/em><\/strong>to elaborate on the night, while on guard duty and taking sporadic VC fire, he shot out the main communication wire around one sector of the An Khe perimeter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  \u00a0 PROMISES WERE MADE AND BROKEN, ORDERS WERE MADE AND THEN DELAYED, AND HE\u2019S THANKFUL IT TURNED OUT THAT WAY \u00a0 By Todd Blomerth   Hundreds of young soldiers sat in the hot bleachers. They were beginning the 173rd Airborne Brigade\u2019s two week jungle school at An Khe, Vietnam. The training sergeant eyed the … Continue reading JACK KENNEDY (‘KEN’) DORAN, JR. – PROMISES WERE MADE AND BROKEN, ORDERS WERE MADE AND THEN DELAYED, AND HE’S THANKFUL IT TURNED OUT THAT WAY<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-veterans-stories","category-vietnam"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/toddshistory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/toddshistory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/toddshistory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toddshistory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toddshistory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=726"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/toddshistory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":744,"href":"https:\/\/toddshistory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726\/revisions\/744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/toddshistory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toddshistory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toddshistory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}