thedrifter
09-25-07, 08:11 AM
Posted on Tue, Sep. 25, 2007
Submariner was two dads
By KAT BERGERON
kbergeron@sunherald.com
OCEAN SPRINGS -- Kenneth Lee Strunk, a three-war veteran, began his military career with a lie.
Lying wasn't something he'd tolerate from his four sons and one daughter, but for this patriotic cause, a young Strunk told the U.S. Marines he was 18, not 16.
After World War II, he joined the Navy for Korea and Vietnam as a submariner, specializing in engine room work.
Between duty stations, he met and married Joan, a Connecticut native. They lived along the East and West coasts, even in Hawaii, and like many submariners, Strunk was gone for months. That didn't affect the closeness of the family, all of whom continue to live in South Mississippi. Strunk moved them here in 1975 so he could continue working on submarines as a civilian.
"Dad had retired from the military and moved to Kentucky where he grew up, but then he heard they were building submarines at Ingalls shipyards," said son Shannon Strunk, who lives in Pascagoula. "Ingalls didn't make submarines long, so Dad went into ship guarantee and warranty work."
His 1995 retirement gave him time to pursue his love of fishing and shrimping from their pleasure boat, family in tow.
"He was two fathers, the military disciplinarian to make us do right, and that understanding smile to let us know he loved us," said Shannon.
Friends and families say their final goodbyes to a man who faced a decade of Alzheimer's when he is buried today at Crestlawn Memorial Park.
"I believe a new Alzheimer's medicine added years of life," said his wife of 55 years. "It's also how you look at things. We didn't treat it as an illness. We looked at it as a handicap.
"I believe life is like a book and we pass through these events in our lives like chapters. We had some good chapters together."
Strunk
Ellie
Submariner was two dads
By KAT BERGERON
kbergeron@sunherald.com
OCEAN SPRINGS -- Kenneth Lee Strunk, a three-war veteran, began his military career with a lie.
Lying wasn't something he'd tolerate from his four sons and one daughter, but for this patriotic cause, a young Strunk told the U.S. Marines he was 18, not 16.
After World War II, he joined the Navy for Korea and Vietnam as a submariner, specializing in engine room work.
Between duty stations, he met and married Joan, a Connecticut native. They lived along the East and West coasts, even in Hawaii, and like many submariners, Strunk was gone for months. That didn't affect the closeness of the family, all of whom continue to live in South Mississippi. Strunk moved them here in 1975 so he could continue working on submarines as a civilian.
"Dad had retired from the military and moved to Kentucky where he grew up, but then he heard they were building submarines at Ingalls shipyards," said son Shannon Strunk, who lives in Pascagoula. "Ingalls didn't make submarines long, so Dad went into ship guarantee and warranty work."
His 1995 retirement gave him time to pursue his love of fishing and shrimping from their pleasure boat, family in tow.
"He was two fathers, the military disciplinarian to make us do right, and that understanding smile to let us know he loved us," said Shannon.
Friends and families say their final goodbyes to a man who faced a decade of Alzheimer's when he is buried today at Crestlawn Memorial Park.
"I believe a new Alzheimer's medicine added years of life," said his wife of 55 years. "It's also how you look at things. We didn't treat it as an illness. We looked at it as a handicap.
"I believe life is like a book and we pass through these events in our lives like chapters. We had some good chapters together."
Strunk
Ellie