Kenneth was born on the family farm 2 ½ miles south and west of Powhattan, Kansas, April 25, 1927, one of seven children of Henry and Audrey Belle Cashman Wenger. He attended Pleasant Hill Grade School and graduated from Powhattan High School with the class of 1945. Immediately following his graduation, he entered the United States Navy during World War II and became a Shore Patrolman Stateside. He was discharged in 1946.