Keith Earle “Kit” Bonn was born on 24 Sep 1956 in New York City, NY. Kit’s parents the late Keith J. and Ruth Bonn were a strong influence in Kit’s life, especially his father, a World War II veteran.
Kit joined the Long Gray Line in the summer of 1974 and quickly proved himself to be a totally professional cadet; for example, he was an active member of the Military Affairs Club. In his first two years at the Academy, Kit also sang in the Cadet Choir. In 1976, Kit was transferred to Company D-4. During his two years there, Kit rose to be our first detail company commander in the fall of 1977. Kit was a phenomenal cadet. He had a first-rate analytical mind coupled with an encyclopedic memory. Name any war, campaign, or battle in American history—especially World War II—and he could tell you, in remarkable detail, the order of battle and disposition of the opposing armies; the strategies; the equipment and tactics; the degree of skill and courage shown by commanders and common soldiers alike; and the significance of the outcome—all woven together into a narrative that had a “you are there” vividness about it and always augmented with his own penetrating insights. Or he could just as readily recite, with great elan, long passages of poetry from Kipling (his favorite poet) to punctuate his admiration for soldiers in all wars.
Kit had a marvelous and versatile sense of humor that he deployed often and to great effect in everything from farce and mimicry to sophisticated banter and scathing satire. Kit had an unusual command of the English language—a skill he would put to use later in his extraordinary life as an author of several books.
Kit was commissioned in the Infantry upon graduation. Following Airborne and Ranger Schools, Kit’s Regular Army career started in the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, NC, as a weapons and rifle platoon leader, and he earned the Expert Infantryman Badge. After the Infantry Officer Advanced Course in 1982, he joined the 2nd Infantry Division in the Republic of Korea, serving from 1983 to 1984 as a company commander in the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry (Manchu); it was there that Kit began his long relationship with the 9th Infantry. Kit earned a master’s degree from the University of Chicago in 1986 and was also a voluntary advisor to the Illinois National Guard. Kit then returned to West Point to teach history until 1989. In 1989, he joined the 7th Infantry Division (Light) at Ft. Ord, CA, as a battalion operations officer, an adjutant, a battalion executive officer, and a brigade executive officer with the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 9th Infantry and the 9th Infantry Regiment. While on active duty, Kit finished his PhD in history from the University of California in 1991. His doctoral thesis—a comparative study of German and Allied infantry combat—was published as When the Odds Were Even: The Vosges Mountains Campaign, October 1944—January 1945 (Presidio Press, 1994). In 1994, Kit was chosen to be the Director of Operations (J3) for Joint Task Force—Bravo, responsible for the planning, coordination, and execution of joint operations focused in Central America.
It was also in 1994 that Kit married Patricia Douglass on 28 Dec. To this union was born Victoria Grace in 1997 and William Lloyd in 1999.
In 1995, the Commander of the Training and Doctrine Command selected him to be his special assistant. Here Kit helped design the Army of the future, contributing to the Army After Next and Force XXI studies. In 1997 after 23 years of active service, Kit retired from the Regular Army, later moving to Bedford, PA. There he, Patti, and their children cared for a menagerie of pets collected during their years in the Army. Although retired, Kit continued to serve. He founded Aegis Consulting Group Inc., a company dedicated to preserving World War II military history. He is perhaps best known as the revising author of the Army Officer’s Guide (Stackpole Books, 2005), the foundation of every Army officer’s reading for over 50 years. Kit’s company would go on to publish many books documenting the history of World War II.
Kit’s unexpected death on 8 Dec 2005 from an infection that poisoned his blood came as a shock that rippled across the entire Army. Throughout his life, Kit had always shown a strong religious faith. After he retired, he became a member of the Providence Lutheran Church and served on the church council. It was in this church that we bade Kit farewell. Appropriately, his ashes repose in a World War II ammunition box.
Keith Earle Bonn was a man of deep moral conviction and integrity who took serious things seriously and always acted on principle. He was fiercely proud of the U.S. Army’s noble history and especially of the rank-and-file soldiers who have fought our nation’s wars. To him, it was nothing short of a sacred responsibility to train soldiers well, to look after their welfare, and to offer them the very best leadership in return for their exemplary service. This produced in him a single-minded devotion to duty and a staunch refusal to compromise whenever the well-being of soldiers was at stake. Understanding as he did the important responsibilities that would be ours as officers, he took full advantage of the training opportunities West Point offered, and as D-4’s company commander, set a fine example of leadership for us all. On our graduation day, Kit said goodbye and wished us well. As we hugged and shook hands on 7 Jun 1978, we all expressed how proud we were that he was our classmate. And so we say to him again now. Well done, Kit—be thou at peace.
—Kit’s Company D-4, 1978 classmates and his family
Knew no fear when truth and right were in jeopardy...
—from The Cadet Prayer