Mr. Marshall Thomas Kamena

Marshall T. Kamena quietly passed away in Livermore on June 21. He was born in Berkeley, CA on Dec 17, 1917 at Alta Bates Hospital. Alta Bates, herself, was in attendance. His parents, William and Alice Kamena lost the family home to the Great Fire in San Francisco in 1906. His father was employed throughout the Depression as the tool & die maker for the Oakland Tribune. Marshall was raised in Oakland and attended University High School. At the University of California, he majored in History, Political Science and Military Science. Upon graduation in June, 1940 he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army. He was combat ready prior to America’s entry into WWII. He graduated from the American War College and the Command & General Staff School in Washington, D.C. He then saw action in all five theaters of war. After service as the Asst. Adjutant General of the 30th Infantry Division he was selected by General Eisenhower to be simultaneously on his and on Winston Churchill’s staff. Mr. Kamena personally delivered the German secret code from Eisenhower to Prime Minister Churchill at his Downing St. residence. He was a planner for, and a participant in, the Invasion of Normandy. After the German surrender he planned and began the execution of an experimental glider unit for an attack in Japan. The effort was halted when Japan was bombed after the Hiroshima & Nagasaki incidents. He achieved the rank of Lt. Col. Once home in California Mr. Kamena joined the management of Pacific Telephone Co., an AT&T subsidiary. He retired from the phone company in 1986 as the Internal Auditor for California and Nevada. Many of the practices he authored are still policy for AT&T. Marshall enjoyed clock collecting and writing and editing clock related publications. He specialized in 18th & 19th century timepieces and crafted various clock components for parts that had long been discontinued. A clock previously owned by the King of England was one of the favorites in his collection. He was president of a local clockmakers’ group until macular degeneration greatly reduced his sight. He was a life member of both the University of California Alumni Assn. and the NRA. Marshall was president of the western division of the International Wine & Food Society as early as 1957. He was very proud of the stature ultimately attained by the group. Mr. Kamena was pre-deceased by his wife of 63 years, the former Leatha Margaret Hill. He had two sons, Dr. Marshall Kamena, the Mayor of Livermore, whose wife Barbara, is a retired teacher from the Livermore school district; and Dr. Mark Kamena, Clinical Director of the First Responders Support Network, whose wife Paula is the retired District Attorney of Marin County and a General Partner in PLP and FMK Partners, LP. Marshall leaves behind two grandchildren, optometrist Dr. Scott Kamena and dentist Dr. Todd Kamena. Each practices in Livermore. Scott and his wife, Jennifer, have three children, Audrey, Evan and Nolan. Todd and his wife, Margaret, have a son, David. Private memorial services are pending. He will be deeply missed.