Kenneth W. Bilby was a winner of the Legion of Honor, an executive vice president of RCA

RCA

RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...

, and the author of The General, a book on David Sarnoff

David Sarnoff

David Sarnoff was an American businessman and pioneer of American commercial radio and television. He founded the National Broadcasting Company and throughout most of his career he led the Radio Corporation of America in various capacities from shortly after its founding in 1919 until his...

's role in the creation of RCA

RCA

RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...

 and television.

Biography

He was born on October 7, 1918 in Tucson, Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...

 to Ralph Willard Bilby and Marguerite Mansfield. He had a brother, Richard Bilby

Richard Bilby

Richard Mansfield Bilby was a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the District of Arizona and a former federal judicial nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit....

, who became a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Arizona

United States District Court for the District of Arizona

The United States District Court for the District of Arizona is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Arizona. Court is held in the cities of Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, Yuma, and Prescott. The district was created on June 20, 1910, by 36 Stat. 557...

.

During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 he was awarded The Legion of Honor, the Bronze Star

Bronze Star Medal

The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...

 and The Silver Star

Silver Star

The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....

. After the World War, he covered the Arab-Israeli War and authored the book: New Star in the Near East.

He married Helen Owen Lehman in 1948. When he retired from RCA he was appointed Executive in Residence at Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...

.

Books

• New Star in the Near East, Doubleday
• The General: David Sarnoff and the rise of the Communications Industry (1986), Harper and Row, ISBN 0-06-015568-X