This year marks the 51st anniversary of PFC Robert J. McKenna’s death — killed in the line of duty.
McKenna, a Baldwin, New York native, entered the military in May 1965. He completed basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and was then assigned to Fort Gordon, where he completed eight weeks of military police training.
Six months into his military assignment with the 140th MP Company here, McKenna was on duty on the evening of Feb. 22, 1966, at the main gate guardhouse where there was no telephone access or radios. It was the MPs duty to check vehicles entering and leaving the installation through a two-lane road intersecting with Gordon Highway.
Unknowingly to McKenna, two suspects fired shots earlier that evening at a local bar during a robbery in Clearwater, South Carolina. The suspects went to Fort Gordon then turned around to exit through the main gate. As McKenna moved to halt the vehicle, one of the suspects shot him at close range. One of the suspects was sentenced to life and the other was sentenced to 25 years.
In May 1966, the main gate was dedicated and renamed McKenna Gate (Gate 1). He was survived by his parents and 16 brothers and sisters.
McKenna’s name appears on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington D.C., the State of Georgia Public Safety Memorial in Forsyth, Georgia, and the Military Police Regimental Walkway and Memorial Grove at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
Rest in peace brave #Soldier, you have not been forgotten. Thank you for your service and sacrifice.
Sp5 James M. Cripps
US Army Game Warden
Fort Gordon Ga.
Rest in peace brave #Soldier, you have not been forgotten. Thank you for your service and sacrifice.
James M. Cripps SP-5
US Army Game Warden 1967-1970
Fort Gordon Ga.
VA THE REDNECK WAY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO IT ALONE! 