Bond: Former Guard chief had 'great leadership ability'

In 1973 at age 33, Kit Bond was Missouri's youngest governor. In turn, he looked down into the ranks of the Missouri National Guard and chose the youngest man ever to serve as adjutant general, Charles M. Kiefner of Perryville, Mo., a Cape Girardeau-born lieutenant colonel who was only 42 at the time.

"It took me six months to get him through the Missouri Senate," Bond said Tuesday as he reminisced about Kiefner, who died Saturday in Dothian, Ala., at age 76. "He had great leadership ability and he related to the men and women of the Guard. He was not only very popular but a very effective adjutant general."

Kiefner was a political supporter and a friend, said Bond, now in his fourth term as a U.S. senator. "He was very proud of my son, Sam," a Marine Corps officer, Bond said. "He was not only one of my closest friends, but he and Marilyn were Uncle Charlie and Aunt Marilyn."

The strongest testament to Kiefner's abilities as a leader, Bond said, is that John Ashcroft decided to keep Kiefner in the post after he followed Bond into office.

In all, Kiefner served as adjutant general for 16 years, making him the longest-serving leader of the Missouri National Guard. His first four years ran from 1973 to 1977. Bond lost the next election to Joseph Teasdale, then won another term starting in 1981. Kiefner returned and kept the post until 1993.

Bond remembers his first year in office as a time when he relied heavily on Kiefner. A major Mississippi River flood, tornadoes in the April 1974 "super outbreak" and prison unrest all required a close working relationship, Bond said. "It seems like I spent almost every weekend with Charlie and the Guard," Bond said.

In addition to those duties for civil response, Bond said, Kiefner showed strength as an organizer and advocate for the Guard. During his years as adjutant general, the Guard maintained full enlistments, new armories were built or expanded in 17 communities and the Air Guard built new and expanded facilities at Lambert Airport in St. Louis and Rosecrans Air National Guard Base in St. Joseph, Mo. A 350-acre training site used by reservists from all over the United States was constructed near Jefferson City.

While he was adjutant general, Missouri National Guard units took part in overseas training missions in Panama, Honduras and Senegal. Missouri military police units assisted in Panama during and after the defeat of Manuel Noriega's regime. Near the end of his time in office, Missouri contributed 1,300 guard troops to Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

Kiefner graduated from Perryville High School in 1948, several months after he joined Company F of the 140th Infantry Regiment. He continued in the guard at Westminster College in Fayette, Mo., until his unit was activated because of the Korean War and he was sent to Camp Rucker, Ala.

After returning from active duty, Kiefner returned to Perryville and was appointed a second lieutenant.

He received numerous awards for his service, including the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit and the Expert Infantryman Badge, as well as recognition from several other states for his service. He was also a past president of the National Guard Association of the United States and vice president of the First National Bank of Perryville.

"Charlie knew and understood the great citizen-soldiers who signed up for the Guard, and when he gave them an order they knew he understood them and they were willing to follow," Bond said. "And I have lost a great friend, not just a former adjutant general."

Services for Kiefner will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at First Presbyterian Church in Perryville.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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