Kenneth Cassada was born on December 3, 1922, in Polk County, Tennessee. He was the son of Cecil Thornton Cassada and Martha Bell "Mattie" Brown Cassada. Prior to his enlistment in the U.S. Army Air Corps on November 30, 1942, at Camp Forrest, Tennessee, he was employed as a skilled welder and flame cutter by the Tennessee Valley Authority in Farner, Tennessee. He served in the 786th Bomber Squadron, 466th Bomb Group, Heavy, as a Sergeant and Tail Gunner of B-24H #41-29416, nicknamed “Rebel Yell,” during World War II.

On March 22, 1944, the ''Rebel Yell'' was piloted by 2Lt Gilley Terrell Brand, departed RAF Attlebridge in Norfolk, England, on the 466th Bombardment Group's first combat mission of World War II. The aircraft was assigned to the 786th Bombardment Squadron and participated in an Eighth Air Force operation involving 214 B-24 Liberators from the 2nd Air Division and 474 B-17 Flying Fortresses from the 1st and 3rd Air Divisions. The primary objectives were aircraft manufacturing facilities at Oranienburg and Basdorf, Germany, but heavy cloud cover forced most of the bombers to attack the secondary target of Berlin. At approximately 1:30 p.m., during the bombing run and reportedly just 15 seconds before bomb release, Rebel Yell collided in midair with B-24H #41-29434, nicknamed Terry and the Pirates and piloted by Second Lieutenant William J. Terry. Accounts differ regarding which aircraft initially sustained damage from German anti-aircraft fire. Eyewitnesses described one bomber flying inverted and another struggling to remain airborne after losing part of its tail assembly before rolling over and entering an uncontrollable spin. Both aircraft were destroyed, with Rebel Yell reportedly crashing near Malz and Schweinerhütte, approximately five miles northeast of Oranienburg, Germany. Of the 214 B-24s dispatched, 197 successfully attacked their assigned targets, while five failed to return, including the two aircraft destroyed in the collision. Eight of the ten crew members aboard Rebel Yell, including Brand, were killed in action, while the remaining two survived and became prisoners of war.

Sgt Cassada was killed in action and is buried at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky. He shares a collective burial site with five of his fellow crew members: 2Lt Gilley Brand, 2Lt Paul Brill, SSgt Edwin K. Lankford, 2Lt Glenn W. Morris Jr., and Sgt Frank D. Pfeiffer.

Sources of information: www.findagrave.com, www.fold3.com