Kenneth Daniel Armstrong was born on September 5, 1948, to Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Armstrong whose family also included sons David and Rodney and a daughter Gayle. Danny, as family and friends knew him, grew up in Santa Cruz and attended Branciforte Elementary School.

After completing Branciforte Junior High School, he enrolled in Soquel High School near his parents' home. In high school he was popular with the girls who remember him as a quiet, shy and handsome boy with a smile that seemed to have a giggle to it. During his high school years and following graduation in 1967, he worked for the John Bull Motor Company, the DISCO service station and a service station owned by his parents.

In September 1967, Armstrong enlisted in the US Army and received basic and engineer individual training. In February 1968, he was assigned to A Company, 92nd Engineer Battalion, 159th Engineer Group, of the 20th Engineer Brigade stationed at Long Binh, Vietnam. Armstrong arrived in Vietnam on February 13, 1968, and shortly thereafter was promoted to corporal. His abilities were soon recognized and he became his company commander's driver and radio operator. Captain Roy Williams later recalled, "He [Armstrong] was a quiet, and unassuming young man, and very good at his job."

On July 6, 1968, Corporal Kenneth Daniel Armstrong dropped Captain Williams off at his office and was driving on a courier assignment along the main supply route to Saigon when he was forced to swerve to avoid a cyclist. In the process he collided with an oncoming vehicle resulting in a crash that threw him from his vehicle causing extensive injuries. During his recovery period, Armstrong contracted pneumonia that hastened his death on July 11, 1968. His body was returned home and he was buried at Oakwood Memorial Park.

(VVMW; VVVW; SCSn July 16, 1968, July 22, 1968 12:7; Cemetery Survey)