Smokejumper Obituary: Owens, Keith D. (Missoula 1950)

Authors

National Smokejumper Association

Files

Obituary

Keith, 85, died October 3, 2010. He majored in journalism at Washington State University and jumped at Missoula in 1950. A veteran of World War II, the Korean War and the war in Vietnam, Keith was a radio operator/waist gunner in B-24 bombers in World War II, when he was shot down over Yugoslavia. He bailed out of the stricken bomber and was rescued by partisans and returned to Allied lines 19 days later. He was a journalist and photographer for the military newspaper, Stars and Stripes, and was the Seoul Bureau Chief during the Korean War. On Keith's retirement from the Army as Command Sergeant-Major, Keith settled in Port St. John, Florida. He loved spending summers at the Owens family cabin in the Mission Mountains in northwestern Montana where he enjoyed fishing, horseshoes, crossword puzzles and his personally designed golf course. An enthusiastic golfer and University of Montana Grizzlies fan, he enjoyed going to the games in Missoula.

Identifier

Owens_Keith-D_Missoula_1950

Publication Date

June 2020

Keywords

Smokejumping; Smokejumpers -- United States; National Smokejumper Association; Wildfire fighters; Obituaries

Disciplines

Forest Management

Recommended Citation

National Smokejumper Association, "Smokejumper Obituary: Owens, Keith D. (Missoula 1950)" (2020). Smokejumper Obituaries. 495.
https://dc.ewu.edu/smokejumper_bios/495