The name Shangri-la has a deep history in the air service. It was the name of USAAF ace Don Gentile's P-51 Mustang. It was also the mythical point of departure for the bombers of Doolittle's Raid on Tokyo in April 1942 - a name chosen by President Roosevelt whose retreat, now known as Camp David, was then called Shangri-la. Shangri-La is defined as Utopia, a remote, beautiful, imaginary place where life approaches perfection. Ridgewood High School graduate Kenney Harvey of Hohokus learned otherwise.
He was born January 13, 1944 in Pittsburgh, moved to Glen Rock at age 2, where he began his elementary education, before settling in Hohokus in 1952 with his brother, sister and parents to live at 241 Blauvelt Ave. He finished elementary school there and graduated from Ridgewood High School in the class of 1962 where he was very active. He was on the student council for three years, American Field Service committee two years, served as co-chairman on the social committee his senior year, played soccer three years and tried JV baseball, JV basketball and baseball one year each. He forewent a full soccer scholarship at Denison to attend the University of Virginia where he received a N.R.O.T.C. scholarship. He still managed to play lacrosse and soccer for U. Va. and was first Treasurer and then President of his fraternity, Chi Psi.
Upon graduation in June 1966 he was commissioned in the Navy, did initial training at Pensacola and completed engineering and navigation training and night instrument flying, cross-country flights and aircraft carrier landing training as well as air-to-air gunnery tactics in Beeville, Texas. He was awarded his "Wings of Gold" receiving an "E" for excellence in Air-to-Ground weaponry. He was subsequently stationed at Cecil Field Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Fla., joining VA 72, the renowned "Blue Hawks" flying off the U.S.S. Shangri-La. At that time, the Shangri-La was assigned to the 2nd and 6th fleets, alternating deployments to the Mediterranean and operations in the western Atlantic.
Just prior to holiday leave at his sister's home in Rochester, which would have coincided with his father's and sister's birthdays, he was lost in the early evening of December 18, 1968 30 miles south of San Juan, Puerto Rico during a night training session while piloting a Douglas A-4B Skyhawk as he missed on a carrier landing, catching the undercarriage on the tail-end of the Shangri-La and skidding off the port side of the flight deck into 6' waves. Despite an extensive search and rescue operation, his body was not recovered. He had been promoted to Lieutenant 6 days earlier but had not yet received the news.
The following October the Commander of the Shangri-La created the Ken Harvey Memorial Award to be presented to the Lieutenant or man of lesser rank selected by each out-going Commander for junior leadership and contribution to the welfare of the squadron. 18 men received the award before VA-72 was disestablished on June 30, 1991. The last recipient was James Wetherbee who became a NASA astronaut who logged over 1,592 hours in space in six space flights and was the first American to command five space missions. At death Ken Harvey was 24 years old.
From book "At Death He was 25 Years Old" By Christopher C. Stout (F.A.G. contributor #48289027)
He was born January 13, 1944 in Pittsburgh, moved to Glen Rock at age 2, where he began his elementary education, before settling in Hohokus in 1952 with his brother, sister and parents to live at 241 Blauvelt Ave. He finished elementary school there and graduated from Ridgewood High School in the class of 1962 where he was very active. He was on the student council for three years, American Field Service committee two years, served as co-chairman on the social committee his senior year, played soccer three years and tried JV baseball, JV basketball and baseball one year each. He forewent a full soccer scholarship at Denison to attend the University of Virginia where he received a N.R.O.T.C. scholarship. He still managed to play lacrosse and soccer for U. Va. and was first Treasurer and then President of his fraternity, Chi Psi.
Upon graduation in June 1966 he was commissioned in the Navy, did initial training at Pensacola and completed engineering and navigation training and night instrument flying, cross-country flights and aircraft carrier landing training as well as air-to-air gunnery tactics in Beeville, Texas. He was awarded his "Wings of Gold" receiving an "E" for excellence in Air-to-Ground weaponry. He was subsequently stationed at Cecil Field Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Fla., joining VA 72, the renowned "Blue Hawks" flying off the U.S.S. Shangri-La. At that time, the Shangri-La was assigned to the 2nd and 6th fleets, alternating deployments to the Mediterranean and operations in the western Atlantic.
Just prior to holiday leave at his sister's home in Rochester, which would have coincided with his father's and sister's birthdays, he was lost in the early evening of December 18, 1968 30 miles south of San Juan, Puerto Rico during a night training session while piloting a Douglas A-4B Skyhawk as he missed on a carrier landing, catching the undercarriage on the tail-end of the Shangri-La and skidding off the port side of the flight deck into 6' waves. Despite an extensive search and rescue operation, his body was not recovered. He had been promoted to Lieutenant 6 days earlier but had not yet received the news.
The following October the Commander of the Shangri-La created the Ken Harvey Memorial Award to be presented to the Lieutenant or man of lesser rank selected by each out-going Commander for junior leadership and contribution to the welfare of the squadron. 18 men received the award before VA-72 was disestablished on June 30, 1991. The last recipient was James Wetherbee who became a NASA astronaut who logged over 1,592 hours in space in six space flights and was the first American to command five space missions. At death Ken Harvey was 24 years old.
From book "At Death He was 25 Years Old" By Christopher C. Stout (F.A.G. contributor #48289027)
The name Shangri-la has a deep history in the air service. It was the name of USAAF ace Don Gentile's P-51 Mustang. It was also the mythical point of departure for the bombers of Doolittle's Raid on Tokyo in April 1942 - a name chosen by President Roosevelt whose retreat, now known as Camp David, was then called Shangri-la. Shangri-La is defined as Utopia, a remote, beautiful, imaginary place where life approaches perfection. Ridgewood High School graduate Kenney Harvey of Hohokus learned otherwise.
He was born January 13, 1944 in Pittsburgh, moved to Glen Rock at age 2, where he began his elementary education, before settling in Hohokus in 1952 with his brother, sister and parents to live at 241 Blauvelt Ave. He finished elementary school there and graduated from Ridgewood High School in the class of 1962 where he was very active. He was on the student council for three years, American Field Service committee two years, served as co-chairman on the social committee his senior year, played soccer three years and tried JV baseball, JV basketball and baseball one year each. He forewent a full soccer scholarship at Denison to attend the University of Virginia where he received a N.R.O.T.C. scholarship. He still managed to play lacrosse and soccer for U. Va. and was first Treasurer and then President of his fraternity, Chi Psi.
Upon graduation in June 1966 he was commissioned in the Navy, did initial training at Pensacola and completed engineering and navigation training and night instrument flying, cross-country flights and aircraft carrier landing training as well as air-to-air gunnery tactics in Beeville, Texas. He was awarded his "Wings of Gold" receiving an "E" for excellence in Air-to-Ground weaponry. He was subsequently stationed at Cecil Field Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Fla., joining VA 72, the renowned "Blue Hawks" flying off the U.S.S. Shangri-La. At that time, the Shangri-La was assigned to the 2nd and 6th fleets, alternating deployments to the Mediterranean and operations in the western Atlantic.
Just prior to holiday leave at his sister's home in Rochester, which would have coincided with his father's and sister's birthdays, he was lost in the early evening of December 18, 1968 30 miles south of San Juan, Puerto Rico during a night training session while piloting a Douglas A-4B Skyhawk as he missed on a carrier landing, catching the undercarriage on the tail-end of the Shangri-La and skidding off the port side of the flight deck into 6' waves. Despite an extensive search and rescue operation, his body was not recovered. He had been promoted to Lieutenant 6 days earlier but had not yet received the news.
The following October the Commander of the Shangri-La created the Ken Harvey Memorial Award to be presented to the Lieutenant or man of lesser rank selected by each out-going Commander for junior leadership and contribution to the welfare of the squadron. 18 men received the award before VA-72 was disestablished on June 30, 1991. The last recipient was James Wetherbee who became a NASA astronaut who logged over 1,592 hours in space in six space flights and was the first American to command five space missions. At death Ken Harvey was 24 years old.
From book "At Death He was 25 Years Old" By Christopher C. Stout (F.A.G. contributor #48289027)
He was born January 13, 1944 in Pittsburgh, moved to Glen Rock at age 2, where he began his elementary education, before settling in Hohokus in 1952 with his brother, sister and parents to live at 241 Blauvelt Ave. He finished elementary school there and graduated from Ridgewood High School in the class of 1962 where he was very active. He was on the student council for three years, American Field Service committee two years, served as co-chairman on the social committee his senior year, played soccer three years and tried JV baseball, JV basketball and baseball one year each. He forewent a full soccer scholarship at Denison to attend the University of Virginia where he received a N.R.O.T.C. scholarship. He still managed to play lacrosse and soccer for U. Va. and was first Treasurer and then President of his fraternity, Chi Psi.
Upon graduation in June 1966 he was commissioned in the Navy, did initial training at Pensacola and completed engineering and navigation training and night instrument flying, cross-country flights and aircraft carrier landing training as well as air-to-air gunnery tactics in Beeville, Texas. He was awarded his "Wings of Gold" receiving an "E" for excellence in Air-to-Ground weaponry. He was subsequently stationed at Cecil Field Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Fla., joining VA 72, the renowned "Blue Hawks" flying off the U.S.S. Shangri-La. At that time, the Shangri-La was assigned to the 2nd and 6th fleets, alternating deployments to the Mediterranean and operations in the western Atlantic.
Just prior to holiday leave at his sister's home in Rochester, which would have coincided with his father's and sister's birthdays, he was lost in the early evening of December 18, 1968 30 miles south of San Juan, Puerto Rico during a night training session while piloting a Douglas A-4B Skyhawk as he missed on a carrier landing, catching the undercarriage on the tail-end of the Shangri-La and skidding off the port side of the flight deck into 6' waves. Despite an extensive search and rescue operation, his body was not recovered. He had been promoted to Lieutenant 6 days earlier but had not yet received the news.
The following October the Commander of the Shangri-La created the Ken Harvey Memorial Award to be presented to the Lieutenant or man of lesser rank selected by each out-going Commander for junior leadership and contribution to the welfare of the squadron. 18 men received the award before VA-72 was disestablished on June 30, 1991. The last recipient was James Wetherbee who became a NASA astronaut who logged over 1,592 hours in space in six space flights and was the first American to command five space missions. At death Ken Harvey was 24 years old.
From book "At Death He was 25 Years Old" By Christopher C. Stout (F.A.G. contributor #48289027)
Gravesite Details
Charles Kenney Harvey Cenotaph plaque Location George Washington Memorial Park 234 Paramus Rd Paramus Bergen County New Jersey USA Section S, Plot: U 201 D #??, near the road and tallest Bell Tower
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
