Kenneth A. Pearson was born on January 22, 1921, in Galena, Illinois, and moved to Downers Grove at the age of 17. He graduated from Downers Grove High School in 1939.
Two years later, Kenneth joined the National Guard and was among the first called to train at Camp Forrest, Tennessee. After nearly a year of training, he was sent overseas. He died while serving on Guadalcanal.
In a letter to Kenneth’s family, Captain J. Francis Gorman, a Catholic chaplain who had provided religious instruction before Kenneth entered the Church, remembered his pleasing personality and fine moral character. He described the deep love and reverence Kenneth expressed for his family and praised his bravery, writing, “He died a hero’s death and won the admiration of all his buddies.”
Kenneth Pearson’s name is engraved on the plaque at Memorial Park in Downers Grove honoring local servicemen who never returned home from World War II.
