STEVEN P. McKNIGHT

The separate page of the McKnight family illustrates that we were well represented in the military. I have a few details: Mom's brother, Earl Kinkennon, was in the Marine Corps on Guadalcanal. He was lucky to get out alive. He was pretty badly injured, had a steel plate in his head, but he made it. My dad and his brothers were in branches of the military. Dad was born in 1917, and passed away in 2000. He was an Army Tech Sergeant in Germany in WWII.

I graduated from Clarke Community High school in 1966, and helped Dad on the farm until I was drafted into military service. I was inducted into the Army May 2nd, 1968, and went for Basic Training at Fort Worth, Texas. AIT (Advanced Individual Training) was at Fort Ord, California, where I was assigned to the Infantry.

We had orders to go to Vietnam but two weeks before we got out of AIT, the Russians invaded Czechoslovakia so they wanted to build up NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) personnel over there, and I was sent to Schweinfurt, Germany. The town had a big ball bearing factory, and had been bombed big time in WWII. When we were stationed there, there were still parts of the town that looked just like it did during the war. When we were out on maneuvers, we found little villages that were totally bombed out.

I was inducted the 2nd day of May, 1968, discharged the 2nd day of March 1970 at Ft. Dix, New Jersey. Both my brothers were in the service so I got out to come home to Liberty to help Dad on the farm. Our family has lived at Liberty for years. We grew up there, went to Liberty #3 rural school, and completed our schooling at Clarke Community.

I have three children — Heather with my first wife, Terrie, and Angela and Frank whom I adopted when I married Dorthey. Dorthey and I have been married 27 years. I have had various jobs but have now been employed for more than 20 years by the county.

We still live in the neighborhood where we grew up, surrounded by family. Liberty in Clarke County, Iowa is a good place to be. I have seen a lot of the world and I choose to be here.

Return to main page for Clarke Veterans by Fern Underwood

Last Revised June 8, 2015