The Combat Veterans For Congress PAC is endorsing the 50th Combat Veteran For Congress; he is a fiscal and constitutional conservative who will work to rein in the out-of-control spending of the Obama Administration.  Cong Steve Kuykendall http://www.stevekuykendall.com resides in Long Beach, CA and is running for the Republican nomination in the newly created 47th Congressional District for an open seat and there is no incumbent.  Cong Kuykendall has served on the House Armed Services, Science, and the Transportation & Infrastructure Committees, where he led efforts to protect and improve California’s ports and the vital jobs they provide.  Cong Kuykendall was born on January 27, 1947 in McAlester, Oklahoma and was raised in Oklahoma City, OK.  Upon graduating from Northwest Classen High School in Oklahoma City in June 1965, Steve matriculated at Oklahoma City University where in August 1968 he received a BS in Economics.  Steve attended San Diego State University, San Diego and received an MBA in December of 1974. 

In 1966, Steve Kuykendall joined the US Marine Corps Platoon Leaders Class (PLC) program, as such he was a sworn into the US Marine Corps Reserves as an enlisted US Marine; in the summer of 1967, Steve went thru 10 weeks of the PLC summer officer training program at the US Marine Corps Base in Quantico, VA.  On August 8, 1968 at the US Marine Corps Recruiting Office in Oklahoma City, Steve Kuykendall was discharged as an enlisted man in the US Marine Corps, and was commission as a Second Lieutenant, USMCR-----(His commission was backdated to July 1, 1968).  2nd LT Kuykendall reported to the US Marine Corps Base at Quantico, VA on September 13, 1968 for 21 weeks of Officer Basic School.  On September 14, 1969, 2nd LT Kuykendall deployed to Da Nang, Republic of Vietnam for his First Tour of Combat Duty with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment. He subsequently served with the 11th, and 13th Marine Regiments as an Artillery Officer and a Forward Observer in I Corps; his area of operation was from DaNang to Hue Phu Bai from the beach to about 15 kilometers inland. In late 1969, while still on duty in Vietnam, he augmented as a regular USMC Officer and was promoted to 1st LT First Lieutenant Kuykendall returned to CONUS on August 26, 1970 and reported into the Naval Amphibious School in Coronado, CA.  For his Combat Duty in Vietnam, 1st LT Kuykendall was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V”, the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Star, the RVN CivActColor (1st Class), and various Campaign Medals.  On April 1, 1972 1st Lt Kuykendall was promoted to Captain and on May 18, 1972, Capt Kuykendall returned to I Corps for his Second Tour of Combat Duty.  He served with Sub Unit One, 1st ANGLICO as an Aerial Observer, a Naval Gunfire Spotter, and Military Advisor for the 2nd ARVN Division; he flew with VN Air Force pilots in spotter aircraft from the Chu Lai Airfield    His area of operation was from DaNang, to the II Corps’ border, and from the beach to about 20 kilometers inland.  For his second tour of Combat Duty, Captain Kuykendall, USMC was awarded an Air Medal, the Vietnam Cross Gallantry with Palm, and various Campaign Medals.  On August 31, 1973, after 5 years of Active Duty and 2 years of Reserve Duty, Captain Kuykendall, USMC was transferred to the Temporary Disability Retired list with a permanent shoulder disability; in 1975 the US Marine Corp severed him and he was designated as a Disabled American Veteran and the responsibility of his medical support was transferred to the Veterans Administration.

Cong Steve Kuykendall has provided California and the United States with over 40 years of public service.  Steve served as Mayor and as a Councilmember for Rancho Palos Verdes, President and Trustee of the Peninsula Education Foundation, Trustee of the Rancho Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy, Chairman of the Palos Verdes Regional Law Enforcement Committee, and Vice Chairman of the Los Angeles County Emergency Preparedness Commission.  From 1994 to1998, Steve served in the California State Assembly where he demanded a full accounting of legislative spending and oversaw the Assembly’s first “clean” fiscal audit in ten years.  A strong independent leader, he worked to cut government waste, lower taxes, streamline business regulations, improve education, reduce crime, and protect California’s coastline. Cong Kuykendall served in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2001 representing California’s 36th Congressional District.  As a member of the House Armed Services, Science, and the Transportation & Infrastructure Committees, he worked to improve the lives of military families, protect America’s waterways and airports, encourage scientific innovation, and rebuild the nation’s infrastructure.  He also crafted a plan to pay down the national debt, while protecting tax cuts and Social Security. 

Cong Kuykendall is a Life Member of the VFW, the American Legion, the US Navy League, the Vietnam Veterans of America, the Military Officers Association, the 1st Marine Division Association, the Association of Naval Aviation, and the American Numismatic Association.  He is an Elder of St Peters by the Sea Presbyterian Church in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.  In addition, he is a member of US Naval Institute, ANGLICO Association, the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club of Long Beach (currently a Vice President), the National Association of Realtors, the California Association of Realtors, the California Republican Assembly, the Palos Verdes Peninsula Republican Women Federated (Associate Member), the California State Republican Party (a regular voting member), and the Republican Lincoln Club of Los Angeles County.  Cong Kuykendall has been endorsed by CA Governor Pete Wilson (Ret), CA Lt Gov Abel Maldonado (Ret), Assemblyman Brooks Firestone (Ret), LA County District Attorney Steve Cooley, Avalon Former Mayor and Councilmember Ralph A. Morrow, Jr,, Rolling Hills Mayor Allen Lay, Manhattan Beach Mayor Bob Holmes (Ret), Long Beach MAYOR Eunice Sato (Ret), and El Segundo Chamber of Commerce Chair David Herbst.  On October 3, 2011, Cong Kuykendall and his wife, Jan, will have been married for 41 years, and they have three grown children; their daughter Kerry age 38 is a Commander & fighter pilot in the US Navy, a son Brent age 34 is a public school administrator, and their son Craig age 29 is a Los Angeles City Fire Fighter.
 

If you review Congressman Steve Kuykendall’s positions on various issues on his Web site, you would be pleased with his stands; they agree with the Combat Veterans For Congress Mission Statement.  The Combat Veterans For Congress PAC is pleased to endorse Cong Kuykendall, look forward to working with him, and are pleased that a Combat Veteran of his caliber is running for re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives.  If you have friends, associates, or relatives who know voters in the state of California, kindly pass this E-mail onto them and ask them to support Cong Kuykendall by working in his campaign organization, by providing financial support for his campaign in any amount, and/or by networking with others who would be willing to support his campaign.  We have endorsed another Combat Veteran For Congress that General George Washington would have approved of.  A Veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to “The Unites States of America” for an amount “up to and including his life.”