[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 138 (Thursday, September 24, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1340]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING THE SERVICE AND SELFLESS SACRIFICE OF FIRST SERGEANT PETER 
         ANDREW McKENNA JR., UNITED STATES ARMY SPECIAL FORCES

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF MILLER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 24, 2015

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is with both profound sadness 
and deep gratitude that I rise to pay tribute to a fallen decorated 
American hero. On Friday, August 7, 2015, First Sergeant Peter Andrew 
McKenna Jr. of the 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, located in 
Florida's First Congressional District, tragically lost his life during 
an attack on a NATO facility in Kabul, Afghanistan. First Sergeant 
McKenna, now laid to rest in Rhode Island, was only 35 years old, but 
lived a lifetime marked by and full of service.
   Born to Peter and Carol McKenna of Bristol, Rhode Island, 1SG 
McKenna graduated from Mt. Hope High School in 1998. Upon his 
graduation, he followed his family's example of service, began his 
career as an Army infantryman, and then passed the grueling Special 
Forces qualifying course and earned his Green Beret in 2002. Upon 
completion of the Q-Course, he was assigned to the 7th Special Forces 
Group, now based at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, as communications 
sergeant. During his selfless service, 1SG McKenna participated in six 
combat deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan while serving our 
Nation with the utmost distinction throughout his 17-year career.
   Among his many awards and accolades are the Bronze Star with Valor, 
Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense 
Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global 
War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service 
Medal, Army Combat Infantry Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Master 
Free Fall Badge, and the Special Forces Tab.
   He, however, was not only a consummate leader and selfless warrior 
in his professional life, but his personal life as well. He was 
recently recognized for having traveled the furthest distance to be at 
the 2015 Bristol Fourth Of July Celebration.
   Mr. Speaker, on behalf of a humble and grateful Nation, I thank 
Andrew's family, for the love, counsel, guidance, and support given to 
him, which helped make him the hero he became. His life stands as a 
testament that freedom is not free, and to that end, his legacy will 
echo in time as an example of the ultimate sacrifice. My wife, Vicki, 
joins me in praying that God be with his daughter Rebecca, parents 
Peter and Carol, and the rest of his family and friends during this 
time of great mourning, and may God continue to bless the United States 
of America.

                          ____________________