in his junior year. Military service Kernan joined the United States Navy in 1969, and served as a Naval Flight Officer aboard the carrier . After he completed Naval Flight Officer training, reconnaissance training, & RA-5C Vigilante Replacement Air Group training, he served with RVAH-7 at Naval Air Station Albany, Georgi, until deploying to Southeast Asia aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, where he served (flying 26 missions over Laos and North Vietnam) from February 1972 until a two-seat fighter plane he was serving as a weapons officer on was shot down by enemy forces while on a reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam and Kernan was detained as a prisoner of war on May 7, 1972. He was held as a prisoner of war for 11 months. For part of his time as a prisoner of war, Kernan was imprisoned Hỏa Lò Prison, however he spent most of his sentence at a nearby prison dubbed "The Zoo". Kernan was repatriated on March 27, 1973 and continued on active duty with the Navy until December 1974. Kernan received the Distinguished Flying Cross, two Purple Hearts and the Navy Commendation Medal. Early career Kernan served as a business manager and executive at several companies. In 1975, after having completed his Naval service, Kernan worked for Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, supervising the manufacturing of Camay, Safeguard, and Zest products. He then returned to South Bend, where he worked for South Bend Community Schools and later for the Schwarz Paper Company. Kernan began his career in government by working for a month in the office of South Bend controller Peter Mullen for a month in 1976 on a special project related to license research. South Bend Controller Kernan served South Bend controller from 1980 to 1984. He was appointed to the position by mayor Roger Parent quickly after Parent took office on January 1, 1980. Kernan had been recommended to Parent by Peter Mullen, who held the position before Kernan. As controller, Kernan served as an ex officio member of the Board of Public Works, and the water and sewage boards. Kernan was tasked with overseeing the drafting of the city's $40 million annual budget. While in this office, cuts were made in regards to the number of the police and firemen, which he later stated were necessary due to the budget squeeze caused by a state tax freeze and cuts in