94 U.S. VETERANS MAGAZINE SUMMER 2020 WWW.USVETERANSMAGAZINE.COM
GOVERNMENT
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former four-star general who served as the Armys vice chief of staffhas been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Jack Keane, who served from 1966 to 2003, was a career infantry paratrooper and decorated combat veteran of the
Retired General Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom
General, you will be remembered as one of the finest and most dedicated soldiers in a long and storied history of the United States military.
-President Donald Trump
President Donald Trump presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to retired Gen. Jack Keane during a ceremony at the White House March 10, 2020.
TIA DUFOUR
service, Keane oversaw 1.5 million soldiers and civilians in 120 countries, with an annual operating budget of $110 billion, according to his biography. In his Army career, Keane earned two Defense Distinguished Service Medals, ive Legions of Merit, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, three Vietnam Service medals, the Combat Infantryman Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, and a Ranger tab, among other decorations. After he retired from the Army, Keane frequently traveled to Iraq and Afghanistan for senior defense icials with multiple visits during the surge period in both countries. He currently serves as chairman of the board of directors for the Institute for the Study of War, which describes itself as a non-partisan think tank committed to improving U.S. military operations and the response to emerging threats. Keane, 77, said he was deeply honored to receive the medal at the White House surrounded by friends, family and military icials. He went on to say that his career had been shaped by two major events in his life. First, he said his time in Vietnam put him in close combat with his soldiers in a place where death was always a solemn companion. Yet, it was there I truly learned the value of human life; to treasure it, to protect it, he said. The experience crystalized for me the critical importance of our soldiers to be properly prepared with necessary skill and the appropriate amount of will to succeed in combat. Losing 85 Army teammates at the Pentagon on 9/11 also pushed him to do more. He ran through smoke and debris and evacuated the injured, saving lives, Trump said. He visited the wounded in hospitals and attended scores of funerals for the fallen patriots slain in the attack. Following the Army, Keane said he stayed involved in foreign policy and national security to ensure such attacks would never happen again. My motivation is pretty simple: Do whatever I can, even in a small way, to keep America and the American people safe.
Source: army.mil
U.S. ARMY)
Retired Gen. Jack Keane, who served from 1966 to 2003, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a ceremony at the White House March 10, 2020.
Vietnam War. He was also at the Pentagon when a jetliner struck it on 9/11, and later provided oversight and support for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He is now a senior strategic analyst for Fox News. President Donald Trump called Keane, a courageous warrior and a fearless patriot, and whom national security expert Henry Kissinger once dubbed a national treasure. Jack Keane is a visionary, a brilliant strategist and an American hero, Trump said. The medal is one of the nations highest civilian awards given to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the U.S., to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. As the Armys vice chief of staffin his last four years of
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