Kenneth W. Gonder was born on May 3, 1947. His home of record is East Brunswick, NJ. Kenneth attended East Brunswick High School where his interests included bowling and music. He attended Wilkes-Barre College and graduated in 1969 earning his BS in Economics.
Kenneth entered the US Army in October 1969 where he attained the rank of Corporal (CPL). He completed basic training at Fort Dix, NJ, and took advanced infantry training at Fort Lewis, WA. He was sent to Vietnam and assigned to Company D, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry, First Cavalry Division, 1st Platoon.
Kenneth was 23 years old when he stepped on an Allied Forces land mine on May 19, 1970, in the Binh Duong Province of South Vietnam and was killed instantly. He was survived by his parents, Walter and Birtie, and two sisters JoAnn and Robin.
My brother Kenny was 23 years old when he died. He hadn’t really had a chance to live or experience life. He was drafted not long after he finished college. He needed one more class so he would have enough credits to graduate. He completed the class in the summer and went into the Army in the fall. His diploma didn’t arrive until after his death.
He was a quiet, really nice guy who never gave anyone any trouble. All through high school he was active in the teen group at church. He also spent a lot of time in his room listening to music, recording songs and practicing to be a disc jockey. He wanted to be on the radio or have his own record company. He was four years older than me and used to tease me all the time. My sister and I would bother him and his friends by making up songs about them.
When my brother went away to college we really didn’t have much contact. The four-year difference in our ages seemed like a huge span.
I remember when my family found out that Kenny was being sent to Vietnam. My father had recently had a heart attack and my mother was legally blind and the stress was overwhelming for us.
They tried to get him out of it and my mother wanted him to go to Canada but Kenny felt it was his duty to go. He didn’t agree with the war and hated guns since he was a child but he went with the attitude that he wouldn’t kill anyone.
During the months after he was drafted, before going overseas, he met and fell in love. This was his first serious girlfriend and the happiest time in his life. They made plans to marry when he came home.
The weekend that he left to go overseas was March 1st. I was going to college in West Virginia at the time and it was my boyfriend’s birthday, but I hitched a ride home to say goodbye. I always felt for some reason that he wouldn’t be coming home.
The day my brother died, May 19, 1970, my mom and I were shopping for a cassette player and tapes to try to make life a little more bearable for Kenny. We mailed him the care package the next day.
On May 21 as I was coming home from my summer job, I found two men from the Army outside our home. It didn’t even dawn on me until I walked in the door and everyone was crying that Kenny was dead. It was, and still is, the worst moment of my life.
I always felt that it was a good thing that he wasn’t there long before he was gone. I’m not sure my family could have survived 2 years of worrying and then lose him. He didn’t see much of any fighting and he didn’t have to find out if he could really kill someone. He was walking with his platoon and stepped on an allied forces land mine. It still seems so senseless.
Unfortunately, after all these years I have few memories of my brother – sneaking downstairs together on Christmas, him calling me names, his face before he left and him laying in the coffin under glass.
I often wonder if we would have been close as adults, with our families getting together for the holidays. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss him.
Written by JoAnn Woodley, Sister
Sources: JoAnn Woodley (sister) and NJVVMF.
12/17/2024
