Sergeant Kenneth J. McKeeman was honored Friday in Middletown at the State Veterans Cemetery.
“We can never forget,” said state Department of Veteran Affairs commissioner Ron Welch. “We must make every effort we can to recover remains.”
McKeeman served in the Air Force during World War II. In 1944, he was killed alongside his crew members of a B-24 bomber flying over the coast of France.
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“He was a young guy trying to help his country,” says niece Mary Bourdon. “This is a celebration of life lived and fought for his country.”
His remains were exhumed and identified from a grave in France and on Friday he was laid to rest with members of his family in attendance.
“It’s a wonderful feeling for the family,” says his nephew and namesake Kenneth McKeeman. “All of us are so thankful for what the military did to find a family member.”
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“They promised to bring them home,” says Bourdon. “And not leave them alone, leave them there. And they did that.”
Sgt. McKeeman was laid to rest alongside other veterans with full military honors.
“He signed that line up until including his life,” says Peter Galgano Jr. who is a retired Marine. “So, we respect every single veteran in here.”
“For the families it means closure,” says Bourdon. “It’s closure, it lets you know where they are.”
