--- title: "Meet the 81-year-old Navy vet and TikTok influencer with 53 million likes" description: "Patriotic Kenny is a national treasure. Watch just one of his \"TicTac\" videos and see for yourself." date: "2023-12-11" modified: "2023-12-11" authors: - name: "Tessa Robinson" job_title: "Chief Emeritus, Former CIA" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/tessarobinson/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/entertainment/patriotic-kenny/" categories: - "Entertainment" --- # Meet the 81-year-old Navy vet and TikTok influencer with 53 million likes ![An elderly man with white hair and glasses, wearing a blue plaid shirt, is sitting at a wooden table with an open book in front of him. He has an expression of surprise or shock, with his mouth open and eyes wide. Behind him is a wall with a framed geometric quilt pattern.]() *Patriotic Kenny* Patriotic Kenny is nothing shy of an absolute delight. I had the privilege of sitting down with him at USAA's Media Row in anticipation of the 2023 Army-Navy game, presented by USAA. The Navy vet seeps joy and radiates kindness. Ten seconds with him will absolutely cure what ails you. But who is this 81-year-old on a scooter and why do millions of people follow him? https://www.tiktok.com/@patriotickenny/video/7298534893191974190 Kenny Jary was born and raised in Minnesota, where he worked construction as soon as he graduated high school. He enlisted in the Navy in 1959 and served on the refueling squadron aboard the USS Okinawa during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He left the service in 1965 and began working for the Ford Motor Company, where he spent 32 years before retiring. In 2021, Kenny's red, white and blue mobility scooter broke down. He used this scooter to move about town and to, as Kenny puts it, "spread joy and kindness!" Kenny's friend and neighbor, Amanda had started a social media page for Kenny as a way to spread joy around their community. "Everyone in our neighborhood knows Kenny," she explained. "Putting him on social media was just a way to share him with more people." When the scooter broke, Amanda felt like if the world knew about Kenny's plight, surely they'd help. The response was overwhelming. After sharing his broken scooter news on TikTok (or TicTac as Kenny calls it), Amanda started a GoFundMe. The pair hoped to raise enough to cover a new mobility scooter and were shocked to raise nearly $150,000. The Patriotic Kenny Foundation was born, with the intent of giving scooters to more veterans in need. Since inception, the foundation has given away 87 scooters to deserving vets across the country. ![An elderly man wearing a white sailor hat and a navy blue sailor uniform with white stripes is smiling and giving a salute. He is also wearing black-framed glasses.]() *Patriotic Kenny* This was Patriotic Kenny's first Army-Navy game, and when I talked to him on Friday, he couldn't have been more pumped. "My heart is beating so fast right now, and it's not until tomorrow. I am just so, so excited!" https://www.tiktok.com/@patriotickenny/video/7310413799377390890?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7282855683331638830 Kenny is passionate about everything, especially the Navy. "I've always liked water. Being on the ship, talking to the crew - my shipmates, that was always my favorite part." You can also see his eyes light up when talking about his foundation. "I am so happy we have a foundation now, to honor and empower veterans with mobility scooters. Our mission is to be kind, to be nice, to spread joy. I'll tell you, when we donate a scooter to a vet, it's the best. We had one for a 97 year old WWII vet; and it was just heartbreaking to see him. But when he got it, he just got so excited and started scooting around his neighborhood. Mobility scooters spread so much joy." So do you, Kenny. So do you! ## Author Tessa Robinson served as Editor in Chief for We Are The Mighty for 5.5 glorious years from January 2020 - May 2025. She spent over a decade with the federal government working in emergency management before reinventing herself as a writer courtesy of military life. Prior to WATM, Robinson served as Managing Editor for Spouse & Family at Military.com and Branded Content at Task & Purpose. She's the author of the New York Times Deployment Diary and founder of Humans on the Homefront. When she's not scrolling through social media aimlessly looking for stories, she's coaching her daughter's basketball team or playing baseball with her son. ### Author social links [LinkedIn]()