Patriotic Kenny | |
|---|---|
| Born | Kenneth Jary |
| Occupation | Retired Navy veteran |
| Spouse | Carol Marsh (m. 1965;div. 1988) |
| Children | 3 |
| Instagram information | |
| Page | |
| Followers | 900,000 |
| TikTok information | |
| Page | |
| Years active | 2021-present |
| Followers | 3.2 million |
Kenny Jary (born 1942), better known as Patriotic Kenny, is an American 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.
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 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.
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]
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]