PORTLAND — Ken Jernstedt, a famed World War II aviator, successful Hood River businessman and longtime public Oregon official, has died at 95.
The Oregonian reports that Jernstedt, who died Tuesday, was a flight leader for the Flying Tigers who fought for China against Japan before the U.S. entered the war.
Afterward, he ran the Coca-Cola plant in Hood River, where he was a two-term mayor. He was elected to the Oregon House in 1966 and served five terms in the state Senate.
The airfield at Hood River and the main gate at the Portland Air National Guard Base are named for him.
“He was really, genuinely a fine human being," said former Gov. Vic Atiyeh, a longtime friend. “He was the perfect guy for his district. Actually, for Oregon."
