Warren Kenney really wanted to be in the Army. Really. So, in 1942 the 15-year-old forged his parents signature and joined the 95th Infantry Division, which fought in France and Germany during World War II.
“The thing about it was, he didn’t talk about his time in the war very much,” said his daughter Susan Kenney of Alpharetta. “But about 10 years ago he started to open up about those experiences.”
In 1945, a few weeks before the war was over, Mr. Kenney watched a dear friend die in a fierce firefight with German forces, he said during a 2010 interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“I really thought he was still alive. His eyes were open and he had a half-smile on his face,” he said at the time. “You never forget that.”
That interview, though painful, was one of the highlights of the latter part of Mr. Kenney’s life said his son, Brian Kenney, of Hinsdale, Ill.
“He was so proud of that article,” his son said. “And we were so proud of him."
Warren John Kenney, of Roswell, died Nov. 19 at home from complications of bladder cancer. He was 84. His body was cremated and a memorial service is planned for 11 a.m. Jan. 14 at St. Peter Chanel Catholic Church, Roswell. SouthCare Cremation Society and Memorial Centers, Marietta is in charge of arrangements.
After Mr. Kenney returned from the war, he married the former Edith Anderson, who died in 2007. The couple was married for nearly 56 years and had three children.
In 1948, Mr. Kenney, a native of Brooklyn, worked as a greeting card salesman for the former P.F. Volland publishing company in New York. He stayed there six years before finding a career in the carpet industry, Ms. Kinney said of her father. He was then hired by the Bigelow carpet company, where he stayed from 1953 until 1983. He then worked for Stratton Industries in Cartersville, from 1984 until 1987. In 1988 he was president of a floor covering trade group that focused on training. He ultimately retired from the flooring business in 1990.
Though Mr. Kenney spent most of his life working with carpet, he never forgot about his war time, his children said. He’d started attending reunions of the 95th Infantry Division, his son said. And a few years later, the former soldier was reunited with the memory of his dear friend who died in battle so many years ago, via email.
Lonneke van Rossum, a Dutch woman, had been tending the grave of Mr. Kinney’s friend, who was buried in Margraten, in the Netherlands. She was able to reach Mr. Kenney through paperwork sent to her by the U.S. government. Ms. van Rossum said she forged a very special relationship with Mr. Kenney, and even got to meet him once while in Atlanta.
“What I really enjoyed about Warren’s emails was that he was always very upbeat and he could manage to cheer you up anytime,” she wrote in an email. “And I liked this because he himself was someone who had gone through quite a bit in life. It’s just amazing how positive some people can stay even after experiencing a war, seeing friends die, losing his wife, getting cancer…”
Brian Kenney said that is one thing he tried to learn from his father, a positive attitude.
“He always had a sense of humor,” Mr. Kenney said of his father. “He was a very demanding guy, but he knew how to make it light in the end.”
Mr. Kenney is also survived by another daughter, Nancy Kenney, of Pelham, N.Y and four grandchildren.
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