Kenneth E. Meneke
USS ASTORIA CL-90 Gunnery Officer 1944 - 1946


 

CDR Kenneth Meneke as Gunnery Officer aboard USS ASTORIA CL-90 in July 1945.
-photo taken by Rudolph Guttosch, courtesy of Herman Schnipper


Kenneth Meneke was a 1933 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. In 1944 he became part of the ASTORIA CL-90 commissioning crew and headed her Gunnery Department through the end of the war. He retired in 1963 as a Captain with 30 years of service as a career officer.



Meneke as a lieutenant commander, at his desk aboard ASTORIA in December 1944.
-photo taken by and courtesy of Herman Schnipper




Gunnery Department officers celebrate Meneke's promotion to commander, at anchorage in Ulithi Atoll on 1 February 1945. The ship took part in Tokyo raids and the assault on Iwo Jima a few days later.
-photo taken by and courtesy of Herman Schnipper




The Heads of Departments of USS ASTORIA CL-90 at San Pedro Bay, Leyte, P.I. on 9 June 1945. Meneke is third from left.
-photo taken by and courtesy of Herman Schnipper




Meneke poses over the Mighty Ninety's scoreboard with fellow Commander Leahy and Captain Dyer on 9 June 1945. ASTORIA received solo credit for thirteen downed planes during Okinawa operations, top scorer for any cruiser in the Fast Carrier Task Force.
-photo taken by and courtesy of Herman Schnipper




The crew prepares for potential occupation duty, 13 August 1945. Meneke takes his turn with an M1A1 Thompson under supervision by a Marine NCO.
-photo taken by Rudolph Guttosch, courtesy of Herman Schnipper

Meneke receives an unidentified medal from CAPT William V. Hamilton, second CO of USS ASTORIA, on 9 March 1946.
-photo taken by and courtesy of Herman Schnipper


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