Patriotic Kenny
American veteran and influencer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kenny Jary (born 1942), better known as Patriotic Kenny, is an United States Navy veteran and social media personality; who became a viral sensation from videos that he made with his neighbor, Amanda Kline. His well-known catchphrase, "Oh my goodness, Amanda!", is in reference to Kline.
Early life and service
Kenny Jary grew up in a military family near St. Paul's West Seventh Street in Minnesota.[1][2] Both his father (Army) and Uncle Jim (Navy) served during World War II. Jary joined the Navy Reserve in 1959;[2] and graduated from Monroe High School in St. Paul, Minnesota a year later. He served during the Cuban Missile Crisis on the USS Okinawa.[3] Jary continued active duty and served as a helicopter refueler until 1963.[4] Following his service, he worked at the Ford plant in St. Paul, Minnesota for 32 years.
Amanda Kline & TikTok
Amanda Kline is a full-time teacher at Metro Deaf School in Saint Paul, Minnesota.[5] She is founder and content creator of @patriotickenny; and co-founder of "Did You Know That". In 2021, Kline met Jary outside a coffee shop in Mahtomedi, Minnesota.[5] A friendship ensued and Kline set up a TikTok account that featured Jary as "Patriotic Kenny". The premiere video showed Jary learning ASL to sign "Thank you" and "Hello" to his deaf buddy, Jerry.[4] A month later, Kline uploaded a video sharing the news that Jary's mobility scooter had broken and he did not have the money to fix it. A GoFundMe campaign raised $5,000 within the first day. Jary's video response on September 19, 2021, received over 12.5 million views.[4] Within two days, the campaign raised over $100,000; prompting Kline and Jary to gift 10 free scooters to other veterans in need.[6] By 2022, the campaign had gifted 50 scooters to disabled veterans.[7][8] In a 2022 interview, Kline stated that she "tries to post a new video by 8 each night."[4] "I kept getting messages from people, saying, 'I couldn’t go to bed last night because there wasn't a video'," Kline said. As of 2026, "Patriotic Kenny" has over 3 million followers on TikTok and over 900,000 on Instagram.[9] In 2023, Kline authored the children's book Kenny's Bright Red Scooter with illustrations by Julie Bourne.
Illness & foundation
In a March 2026 video, Jary announced himself that he was suffering from stage 4 lung cancer.[10] Another GoFundMe campaign was launched by Kline to aid in raising funds for Jary toward medical treatment[11] and "funeral costs", according to Jary. Due to an overwhelming response from online fans and followers, funds exceeded expectations, prompting Jary, with the assistance of Kline, to "pay it forward"[3] by contributing to the Patriotic Kenny Foundation. The non-profit foundation provides mobility scooters to veterans: “free of red tape.” According to Kline, GoFundMe donations totaled $3,000 in the "first five minutes"; and in 20 hours, "people gave $147,000."[12] Coverage of the campaigns and foundation was featured on The Today Show,[10] The Kelly Clarkson Show,[13][8] On the Road with Steve Hartman,[7] NBC Nightly News, ABC World News Tonight and Good Morning America.[14]
Personal life
Jary married Carol Marsh in 1965. They had three children and divorced in 1988; but remained close until Marsh's death in 2018. Jary's life-partner, Barbara Sanz, died in 2017.[4]
Bibliography
- Kline, Amanda (2023). Kenny's Bright Red Scooter. Morgan James Publishing. ISBN 978-1636981352.