Kenneth E. BeLieu was born in Portland, Oregon, on February 10, 1914, the son of Ila Jean BeLieu and Perry G. BeLieu. After graduating from Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1933, he attended the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, graduating in 1937.[1]
Following the end of World War II, BeLieu served in several assignments with the Army in the United States Department of War and with the General Staff of the United States Army. BeLieu was awarded the Silver Star after he assumed command of a tank unit that fought German Panzer tanks near Saint-Lo, France.[1]
The Korean War saw BeLieu return to the field of battle and in 1950, BeLieu lost his left leg below the knee because of wounds received in combat.[1][2] Upon discharge from hospital, BeLieu was assigned to the Office of the Secretary of the Army. There, he served as executive officer to two Secretaries of the Army, Frank Pace and later Robert T. Stevens. BeLieu retired from the Army in 1955 with the rank of colonel.
After BeLieu retired from government work in 1979, he became a consultant. He retired to Sterling, Virginia. BeLieu died of cancer February 10, 2001, at the age of 87 at the Johnson health center within the Falcons Landing retirement community in Sterling.[1]
