Wally Kinnan

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Wally Kinnan
Born: March 7, 1919
Crooksville, Ohio
Occupation: Meteorologist, US Air Force Officer


Henry Wallace Kinnan was a Captain in the United States Air Force (Resigned 1953) and a one of the well known pioneer broadcast meteorologists. He held American Meteorological Society Television Seal #3.

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[edit] Personal and family background

Kinnan was born in March 7, 1919, to David V. Kinnan and Hazel Hamer. He met his wife Marjorie G. Ahrendt at Ohio State where they both attended. He has two sons, David E. Kinnan, Esq. and Timothy A. Kinnan. Both of his sons followed in his footsteps and joined the US Air Force. David was an Air Force JAG Officer and Tim went on to have a full military career. Wally was a trumpet player with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra and Charlie Barnet during his undergraduate years at Ohio State out of love for music and as a way to help pay for school.

[edit] Education

Kinnan’s education includes Ohio State University where he was a mechanical engineering undergraduate. He also earned a Masters of Science degree in Meteorology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

[edit] Service career

Wally enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps during WWII. Kinnan was commissioned a Second Lieutenant upon graduation from the Pilot training and became a B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber Pilot.

[edit] Prisoner of War

Shot down over Nazi Germany in August 1943, he was injured when he bailed out too close to the ground. Injured, he was captured and taken to a German Hospital to heal and then transferred to Stalag Luft III in Sagan, now Żagań in Poland.

Wally’s recount of his bail-out was harrowing even in the telling. After taking fire that damaged the aircraft and wounding the other pilot, the crew immediately began bail-out procedures. Wally, the only pilot at the yoke maintained as much control of the aircraft as possible to ensure that his crew members were all safely out . Once they were out he put the aircraft into as stable a configuration that he could to maintain altitude and attitude. But the badly damaged aircraft continued to descend. In order to bail-out Wally had to make his way through the aircraft to the door. However, the erratic flight of the damaged B-17 required him to crawl and pull himself along. As he was crawling his parachute caught on some part of the aircraft which left Wally in frantic state trying to unbind himself from the rapidly descending aircraft. Finally able to free himself he launched himself from the airplane and pulled his parachute's ripcord. But because he had not been able to properly strap the parachute on, the opening shock caused a serious back injury. This, plus the wounds he had sustained from the flak bursts while still in the aircraft made it impossible for him to evade capture once he was on the ground. Wally credits his German captors with humanity in handling and healing his injuries prior to sending him off to Stalag Luft III.

The reality of the situation in the Stalag system was more dire but often hinged on having enough to eat.

Wally and a group of Who’s Who’s of music that were all interred in German Camps founded a band called the Sagan Serenader’s. They received donated musical instruments from aid organizations and whatever the German captors could scrounge up. Notable members were John Bunch, Tiger Ward, John Brady, Hi Bevins, Nick Nagorka and Vince Shank. John Bunch attributes his survival to a gift of a potato from Wally during a tough time in captivity. Wally could not remember this action specifically but often said that everyone had to take care of each other or no one would have made it through.

After the arrival of General Patton’s Third Army, on April 29, 1945, Kinnan, along with his other very grateful companions were freed.

Official records have initial capture date as August 17, 1943 with official repatriation as of June 30, 1945.

[edit] Post War

After being repatriated he attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received his degree in Meteorology.

Still in the Air Force as Weather Officer he performed his duties in the newly formed United States Air Force.

He served in the Pacific Theatre during the Korean Conflict. His other assignments included weather service on the Kwajalein Atoll, Guam and Hawaii. He was a pioneer of the Severe Storm Center of the Air Weather Service

Deciding a career in Broadcast Meteorology was an exciting field he resigned his commission from the US Air Force to become one of the earliest broadcast meteorologists.

[edit] Meteorology

Wally Kinnan, "The Weatherman", was a well-known personality in Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Tampa.

Wally worked at WKYC in Cleveland, and later, from 1978-1980, at WTSP in Tampa.

Wally Kinnan was one of the first three meteorologists, joining Francis K. Davis and Kenneth H. Jehn, to earn the "Seal of Approval" from the American Meteorological Society. In fact, they drew straws to determine who would be the first, second, and third meteorologist to earn the seal.[citation needed]

Wally Kinnan passed away at the age of 83 of an aortic aneurysm on Friday, November 22, 2002 in Houston, Texas.

[edit] U.S. decorations and badges

[edit] External links

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