Sgt. Kenneth Baker Tucker

F Company

Ken Tucker, 83, passed away Wednesday, March 19, 2008.

A native of Irwin County, Ga., Mr. Tucker was the son of the late Lyte R. Tucker Sr. and Lorena Baker Tucker. He graduated from the Ocilla High School.  In 1942 he attended the University of Georgia, from which hew was drafted during his freshman year.

Photos from The Pandora Yearbook of 1942 from The University of Georgia (his freshman year when he eventually got drafted) UGA = The FIRST State-Chartered (Public) University of higher learning in the USA. Chartered in 1785.

A veteran of WWII, he served in the European Theater with the 517th Parachute Infantry Regimental Combat Team from 1943-1946.  He enlisted April 21, 1943 at Fort McPherson, Georgia.  He was an SS Rifleman and Communications Squad Leader.  He served in the European Theater, Rhineland, Central Europe.  He received the European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal with 2 Bronze Stars and the Good Conduct Medal.  Honorably discharged February 22, 1946.  Army Serial Number 34768686.

My Dad (rip) and his 82nd Airborne unit (his original 517th Parachute Infantry Regimental Combat Team lost 80% of their men in the Battle of the Bulge in the dead of winter, so the remaining Airborne men in his unit were simply merged into the 82nd Airborne) were camping out on a humungous airfield in France, getting a little rest..."killing time/'reading Playboys", as he told me.    Then, all of a sudden a TREMENDOUS/THUNDEROUS cheer went up from the East side of the airfield. The news had just been relayed to the communications tent/center that they would NOT be going to the Pacific, but rather home. HALLELUJAH! My Dad (rip) served 2 years, 10 months and 26 days...God bless his soul. He did have the privilege of marching down both the Champs-Élysées on 26 August 1944 to celebrate the Liberation of Paris (and also in the ticker tape parade in NYC) to honor/celebrate the official end of WW2.

After the war, he came back to Athens, GA and attended the University of Georgia, where he obtained a B.A. Degree and a Master's Degree in Education.  He took advantage of The New Deal under FDR (whom my Dad considered the best president in the history of our great country.....he also had an affinity to Thomas Jefferson whom he used to call "a true renaissance man'') and bettered himself.  He furthered his education at Emory University in Atlanta on the GI Bill, where he received a Doctor of Law Degree.

In 1952, Ken accepted a position with the former Panama Canal Zone Government to teach Social Sciences. An avid tennis player, he also enjoyed coaching the Panama Canal College's boys and girls tennis teams. He retired in 1992 from the Panama Canal College and returned to live in Athens with his family.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Martha; daughter, Beverly and son-in-law Tom Logan; daughter, Joyce and son-in-law Steve Vetter; son Glenn; three grandchildren, Elizabeth, Kristen, and Ryan; nieces and nephews.

1958 wedding in the Republic of Panama

Professor Tucker and Mom

Could you please place my Dad's info. in the "Meet the Troopers" section of your awesome website?

He was soooooooo proud his unit.  God bless all these men of valor. My Dad passed away in 2008 of Alzheimer's. 

My hero/a very truthful and moral MAN in heaven 💪 He was a tough son-of-a-gun!!!!! He used to always tell me in the nursing home: "Son, Airborne soldiers used to eat Marines for lunch" and grin from ear to ear. ha.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, 

Glenn Tucker (son)

I've also attached some photos from The Pandora Yearbook of 1942 from The University of Georgia (his freshman year when he eventually got drafted)....UGA = The FIRST State-Chartered (Public) University of higher learning in the USA. Chartered in 1785.

Received from Glenn Mastellari Tucker, Son

March, 2021