FORT GORDON, Ga. (Feb. 27, 2015) - A memorial plaque stands in front of the Fort Gordon main gate guardhouse, which each day is passed by individuals entering and exiting the installation. It is often overlooked.
The name on that plaque, Pfc. Robert McKenna, was put in a more prominent place a week ago, on the main gate sign at the Gordon Highway traffic intersection. The change was to honor a fallen military policeman, who died in the line of duty.
"This new sign will ensure that we honor Pfc. Robert McKenna as he so richly deserves," said Col. Samuel Anderson, Fort Gordon garrison commander, about Gate 1, which was renamed McKenna Gate in 1966. "Sadly, over the years, it has become more commonly known as simply Gate 1. Our new sign will make sure that Pfc. McKenna is remembered for his sacrifice and devotion to duty while reminding us that brave men and women protect our community from harm every day."
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 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.
May 1966, the main gate was dedicated and renamed McKenna Gate.
The commanding general at the time, Maj. Gen. Walter B. Richardson stated, "The fact that his assignment placed him in what might be called a peaceful environment, in no way detracts from the fact that his death was just as much in the line of duty as that Soldier who died on the battlefield of Vietnam."
In January 1976, the guardhouse security checkpoint was relocated further into Fort Gordon to reduce the danger of entering the post off a main U.S. highway, with additional lighting and a vehicle inspection lane as part of the improvement and beautification program at the time.
"I shall never forget Bob (McKenna) or that night," written in a letter from McKenna's former roommate and friend Rev. Dr. Roger E. Sargent.
The letter was addressed to Sgt. Maj. C. Michael Mulcahy, Directorate of Emergency Services sergeant major, who initiated the project to appropriately place the fallen military policeman's name on the main gate. The task has brought great distinction to Mulcahy and in the highest traditions of the Military Police Corps; Sargent and McKenna's family will never forget his endeavor to keep McKenna Gate alive as an eternal and perpetual memorial to Bob.
"Although the passage of time and sands of the hour glass fall swiftly from the past to the future, our loving memories of Bob sustain us in our hearts each day and it was and still is our honor to have known him," said Sargent.
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.
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