Biography

Lieutenant Colonel Kendall Moultrop was a native of Warwick, Rhode Island and a 1937 graduate of Nelson W. Aldrich High School, Warwick, Rhode Island. Kendall entered Rhode Island State College (now the University of Rhode Island), and he applied for and was accepted into the four-year Army ROTC program. At that time, the program was very limited and highly selective. In 1941, Kendall graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry.

Following graduation, Second Lieutenant Moultrop was ordered to active duty with the 1st Infantry Regiment and served as a Platoon Leader and Company Commander for a total of 37 months. Second Lieutenant Moultrop participated in the invasion of North Africa, the invasion of Sicily; and then on 6 June 1944, CPT Moultrop led 200 men across Omaha Beach on D-Day.

It was there that a land mine exploded under him, spraying him with shrapnel from his feet to his eyes. Using his carbine as a cane, he got back to the beach while under intense enemy fire. He was evacuated to a hospital in England for six months of rehab and then released back to his unit just in time to fight in the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium.

When World War II ended, Kendall joined the Reserve Components and remained active for 22 years, during which time he attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. In June 2000, at the annual reunion of his former K Company buddies, Kendall was presented with a framed arrangement of the dozen medals he earned through the years. The most significant ones are the Silver Star with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart with one Oak Leaf Cluster and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.

Kendall Moultrop earned a Masters of Science Degree in Engineering from Purdue University in l953. He was a professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Rhode Island for 32 years, retiring in 1980. He wrote and published a book on the history of the Civil Engineering Department at URI. Kendall was known as a man of kindness and integrity. He was an ardent supporter of the ROTC Alumni Association Chapter.

Colonel Moultrop spent his entire life serving his community and nation during peace and war. His exemplary devotion to duty, personal bravery and outstanding leadership is in the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his family and the University of Rhode Island.

Lieutenant Colonel Kendall Moultrop died 23 July 2006 and was buried with full military honors in the Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Exeter, Rhode Island.