[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 108 (Wednesday, June 27, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H5752]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING THE LIFE OF MAJOR GENERAL GEORGE W. KEEFE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a proud servant of 
the people and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Major General George W. 
Keefe, who passed away last Thursday, June 21.
  He will be laid to rest tomorrow, June 28, in Northampton, 
Massachusetts, surrounded by his family, friends, fellow officers, and 
the men and women who served with him throughout his 49-year career in 
military service.
  Major General George W. Keefe was born in 1939 in Northampton. He 
attended public schools in Northampton and graduated from Northampton 
High School in 1956. He received his associate's degree from Holyoke 
Community College in 1966.
  He enlisted in the Massachusetts Air National Guard's 104th Tactical 
Fighter Group in 1956 as a crash fire rescue specialist, attaining the 
rank of master sergeant before he was selected for a commission as an 
officer and first lieutenant.
  He served as a squadron group and vice wing commander at the 104th 
Tactical Fighter Group before being selected to serve at the 
Massachusetts National Guard Joint Force Headquarters. He was the last 
member to serve in uniform of the Massachusetts Air National Guard that 
was federally activated and deployed from October 1961 to September 
1962 in Phalsbourg, France, for Operation Stair Step, the U.S. 
military's response to the Berlin crisis.
  George was also enshrined in the U.S. Air Force's Enlisted Heritage 
Hall at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama as one of the few general 
officers who rose from the rank of airman basic to major general.
  He was selected and appointed as the 39th adjutant general of 
Massachusetts in 1999 by Governor Paul Cellucci. With this appointment, 
he became the first U.S. Air Force officer to serve as a Massachusetts 
adjutant general since 1778. That is a long time, even by Massachusetts 
reckoning.
  He continued to serve under Lieutenant Governor and then acting 
Governor Jane Swift, and Governor Mitt Romney reappointed George to a 
second term as adjutant general, a position he held until retiring in 
2005 after 49 years of military service.
  Among one of the bigger moments in his job as adjutant general was 
September 11, 2001, when he had to activate the Massachusetts National 
Guard to respond to the terror attacks on New York City that involved 
two jetliners that had flown out of Logan International Airport in 
Boston.
  I first met Major General Keefe at the start of my second term in 
office. I had just won my first reelection campaign and he had just 
been appointed adjutant general of Massachusetts National Guard. I 
respected the experience and long view that he brought to his position, 
and he was very helpful to me then and over the next 6 years in 
understanding the priorities of the Massachusetts National Guard and 
introducing me to the soldiers, airmen, and uniformed men and women who 
serve in the Massachusetts Guard and Reserve as well as their families.
  I appreciated his Irish sense of humor, and I admired and respected 
his dedication and service to our country, the Commonwealth, and, most 
importantly, to the many servicemembers of the Massachusetts National 
Guard.
  Like so many in Massachusetts, his little piece of heaven was his 
house on Cape Cod where he watched his sons and his grandchildren enjoy 
the beach, the waves, fried seafood, and the countless whiffle ball and 
miniature golf matches.
  The eldest of his four sons, Gary W. Keefe, currently serves as 
adjutant general of the Massachusetts Air National Guard.
  Few lives are as filled with service, love of friends and family, and 
so firmly rooted in Massachusetts as that of former Major General 
George W. Keefe. He made a big difference in the lives of so many 
people and in the life and history of our Nation.
  Major General George W. Keefe was not only a great man but, more 
importantly, a very, very good man. He will be missed, and we salute 
him as we say farewell and Godspeed.

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