Photo By Erin Thompson | 2d Infantry Division in Korea, September 1950... read more read more
Subscribe
by Erin E. Thompson, USAICoE Staff Historian
KENNETH KOEBER ENLISTS IN THE ARMY
On Mar. 3, 1941, Kenneth T. Koeber enlisted in the U.S. Army and accepted a commission in 1942. For the next forty years, he made significant contributions to the field of military intelligence during his tenure as the commander of various Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) detachments during the 1950s and his subsequent civilian service.
Born in Hillsboro, Oregon, in August 1916, Kenneth Koeber enlisted in the U.S. Army on Mar. 3, 1941. He completed his education at the Infantry School, Fort Benning (now Fort Moore), Georgia, after which he was discharged and allowed to accept a commission as a second lieutenant in September 1942. Quickly rising through the ranks, Koeber served with the 42d Infantry Division in Europe during World War II, ultimately taking command of his battalion during a night assault against the German Siegfried Line in February 1945 after his commander became incapacitated. Koeber remained in Europe through 1946. In 1948, he requested a transfer to the CIC and attended the CIC Basic Course and German language training at Fort Holabird, Maryland.
In August 1949, then Maj. Koeber took command of the 2d CIC Detachment, attached to the 2d Infantry Division. During Operation MIKI, the division’s tactical exercise in Hawaii, Koeber’s detachment provided operational security and apprehended “enemy” agents. This exercise impressed upon Koeber the necessity for “selling security” to infantry units as “there were many individuals who were prone to place too little importance” on properly securing information. When the Korean War broke out a few months later in June 1950, Koeber was ready to develop and apply security improvements across combat divisions. He also helped establish a lexicon of Korean phrases and accents to help differentiate North and South Koreans during the war, which assisted in the CIC’s detection of North Korean spies and line-crossers. In October 1950, Koeber was made the executive officer and operations director for Task Force INDIANHEAD, in which the CIC, alongside the 1st Cavalry Division, targeted key intelligence locations in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang. Following this operation, Koeber was promoted to deputy G-2, 2d Infantry Division, while still maintaining his regular duties as commander of the 2d CIC Detachment.
After a few months commanding the 210th CIC Detachment in Korea in early 1951, Major Koeber transferred to the 441st CIC Detachment in Tokyo, Japan, and provided security for Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida during the San Francisco Peace Treaty Conference. In December, Koeber was promoted to operations officer for the detachment. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in November 1952, after which he served as a civilian within G-2, Army Forces Far East.
In July 1958, Koeber became chief of the Pacific Branch, Intelligence Analysis Detachment, G-2, U.S. Army Pacific. One year later, in April 1959, he transferred to the U.S. Army Combined Reconnaissance Activities Pacific (USACRAPAC), where he worked to improve intelligence collection across the western Pacific. In the 1960s, Koeber moved to the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence, Department of the Army, where he served for five years managing counterintelligence operations and policies. A decade later, he continued developing counterintelligence and human intelligence (HUMINT) collection operations for the 500th MI Group in the Far East.
Koeber retired from civilian service in 1983. During his military service, he received five Bronze Star medals and the Army Commendation Medal. His civilian service further earned him twenty-eight Outstanding Performance of Duty ratings and two Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service awards, the U.S. Army’s highest civilian honor. His work in counterintelligence and HUMINT collection for the Army over four decades earned him induction into the MI Hall of Fame in 1994. He passed away in Japan on Dec. 20, 1995.
New issues of This Week in MI History are published each week. To report story errors, ask questions, request previous articles, or be added to our distribution list, please contact: TR-ICoE-Command-Historian@army.mil.
| Date Taken: | 02.28.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.28.2025 14:45 |
| Story ID: | 491780 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 39 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Kenneth Koeber Enlists in the Army (3 MAR 1941), by Erin Thompson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
