Kenneth Trevor Sawyer was born in Menominee, MI. He attended the University of Michigan for two years and entered West Point in 1940. In June 1943 "Trev" was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers and married Helen on 5 June; their union lasted 57 years.

After completing the Basic Course at Ft. Belvoir, VA, he was promoted to first lieutenant and assigned to the 295th Combat Engineer Battalion near Yuma, AZ, for desert training. Trev then was sent to Tidworth Barracks, England, as the commanding officer of Company C. In 1944, after landing in Normandy, the battalion was deployed as part of the XIX Corps.

Trev was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received while building a bridge for the 29th Division over the Ariel River. His company cleared St. Lo to permit the XIX Corps to pass; they also crossed the Seine River, and he was promoted to captain. The battalion conducted an assault on the Siegfried Line and after a month on the line as Infantry, and a month during the Battle of the Bulge, he was awarded the Bronze Star for valor while bridging the Roer River near Aachen. The battalion continued assaults across the Rhine and Weser Rivers. Combat operations by the battalion concluded with construction of the Truman Bridge across the Elbe River for the 83rd Infantry. Two years of combat in WWII ended on VE Day 1945. Trev was appointed S-3 to the 1128th Combat Group in Epernay, France.

In December 1946, he was assigned to the Continental Base Section in Bad Nauheim, Germany, commended for his service and promoted to major. Helen, who arrived on the second boatload of dependents, joined Trev in occupied Germany. In 1946, Trev entered the University of Iowa, graduating with a master’s in civil engineering. He served on the staff of the Engineer School, Ft. Belvoir, VA, and attended the Advanced Course. In 1950, he was assigned to Auburn University, AL, ROTC Unit and promoted to lieutenant colonel.

Trev took command of the 14th Engineer Combat Battalion, I Corps, Uijongbu, Korea, then attended CGSC Ft. Leavenworth. He became chief of the assignments branch, Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army. The Army War College followed.

Trev was assigned as resident engineer to the U.S. Army Alaska Engineer District and, in 1961, promoted to colonel and designated district engineer for Alaska. He was in command during the disastrous Good Friday earthquake of 27 Mar 1964, and for his outstanding leadership in that critical situation he was awarded the Legion of Merit, cited in the Congressional Record, and commended by the Secretary of the Army. He also was made an honorary citizen of Seward, AK. In late 1964, Trev was assigned as DCSLOG at West Point as the Corps of Cadets expanded from 2,700 to 4,400. He was awarded a second Legion of Merit.

In May 1967, he was assigned to Viet Nam as commanding officer of the 45th Engineer Group, and after seven months of construction, the Port of Qui Nhon was completed. The 45th Group distinguished themselves in support of the 1st U.S. Cavalry Division, the Americal Division, the 173rd Airborne Infantry Brigade, the 1st ROKA Capitol Division, and the 22d ARVN Division.

Trev received the Silver Star, Bronze Star for valor and three Air Medals. In December he became deputy commander and deputy engineer of USARV, commanding 30,000 Engineer troops throughout Viet Nam, for which he received his third Legion of Merit. In May 1968, Trev received the Wheeler Award of the Society of Military Engineers for having made the greatest individual contribution to the advancement of military engineers during 1967.

He then served at the Pentagon as deputy director and, later, director of plans, Office of DCSLOG, helping with the modernization plan for the Republic of Viet Nam Army Forces and improvements for the Seventh U.S. Army Europe and the Eighth U.S. Army in Korea. For his service, he received his fourth Legion of Merit.

In August 1969, Trev returned to West Point to continue work on the expansion. He was promoted to brigadier general and assigned as the Eighth U.S. Army engineer, Engineer of United Nations Command and U.S. Forces Korea, for which he received his fifth Legion of Merit.

After Korea, he went to the North Pacific Division as division engineer to work on the Columbia River and command five western districts with headquarters in the District at Portland, OR. Trev was promoted to major general.

In 1972 he became DCSLOG, U.S. Continental Army Command, Ft. Monroe, VA, and supervised 40 major installations throughout the country. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and retired from the Army at Ft. Monroe in 1974.

He joined Ralph M. Parsons in Pasadena, CA, on projects involved with constructing a supertanker harbor east of Oran, Algeria. When he returned, he was appointed GS-18 as Director of the Northeast Corridor Rail Project (DC to Boston) for the Department ofTransportation. In 1978, he joined Fluor, Inc. in Irvine, CA, to build a gas pipeline in Alaska, and for the next ten years, Trev and Helen called Newport Beach, CA, home. Then, in 1982, Trev and Helen moved to Nagoya, Japan, so that he could oversee the construction of modules for six chemical plants built in two Japanese ship yards. Eventually, the modules were shipped to Saudi Arabia. In 1986, Trev was appointed project manager for NOAA, Department of Commerce for design, construction, and real estate for 120 weather stations for FAA, USAF, and U.S. stations.

In 1988, Trevor and Helen retired to the Army Residence Community in San Antonio, TX. Trev became a skilled watercolorist and continued his love for music. He sang in choirs all of his life, including the Cadet Chapel Choir. His enthusiasms were countless, and he always was faithful to the Army Team.

He was devoted to his wife Helen; his children Richard and Victoria; his daughter-in-law Carol, whose father was Donovan Burton ’47; his sisters Jane and Sally; and his brother Richard. He loved his family unconditionally and gave his whole self to them. He enjoyed people, according everyone with dignity, tolerance, respect, and affection. His soldiers told him that he was their ideal of a true gentleman, a brother, and a father.

His faith was complete and unquestioning. Because of his outdoor upbringing, he saw the hand of God in all of His natural creation and understood that, in this life, we all share in His creation. His family adored him, and he knew it deep in his heart. Now Trev lives on in their hearts after a valiant fight to overcome cancer. He was faithful to "Duty, Honor, Country" and has entered into a well deserved rest.

Be thou at peace.

Kenneth Sawyer (1919)