Obituary of Kenneth E. DeHaas

DeHaas, Kenneth E. USMC Vietnam Veteran, age 67 of Elmira, NY died unexpectedly on Friday, November 23, 2018. He was born March 17, 1951 to the late Barbara and Kenneth DeHaas. He was predeceased by his loving wife, soulmate and best friend of 11 years, Sharon on February 20, 2013, his sister-in-law Eunice DeHaas on April 28, 2013 and nephew Sgt. Jeffrey Sempler, USMC on January 14, 2016. He is survived by his brothers Kelvin Bruce DeHaas (Geraldine) of Horseheads, Mark DeHaas of Bath; sister Laurie DeHaas Allen (Christopher) of Savona; son Sean Knight (Maryanne) of Statesville, NC; grandchildren Tyler and Madison; several nieces and nephews, and many friends. Ken served in Vietnam with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines in H & S Company as a radio operator outside Da Nang, among other locations. He called in medivacs for the critically wounded, seeing more than his share of horror. Later in life he worked as a quality control inspector for the Hilliard Corporation for 13 years. Ken was an avid collector of Vietnam and other military memorabilia, comic books, movies, many other unique items and was also an excellent writer. He had written many stories about his experiences in Vietnam, some of which have been published in military magazines. Family and friends are invited to his military funeral honors on Tuesday, December 4th at 1 pm in Woodlawn National Cemetery, 1825 Davis St., Elmira. His time in Vietnam truly defined who he was, a Marine to the end. Rest in Peace, brother. Semper Fi, Hoorah.