ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - Aberdeen Proving Ground leaders, Soldiers, civilians and guests of the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command gathered in the headquarters atrium March 24 to remember Wounded Warrior Kelly Keck, who died suddenly March 13.
Keck's funeral was held March 18 in Havre de Grace. His interment will be at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.
Maj. Gen. Peter D. Utley, ATEC commander, gave remarks during the Service of Remembrance which featured personal reflections by friends and coworkers, a gun salute, the playing of Taps and a flag detail by members of American Legion Post 128 Patriot Guard.
Utley said that Keck was a devoted husband to his wife, Oxana Keck, and a loving father to his young daughter, Zoya Kelly Keck. He leaves behind his mother, Sandra Spencer Sharp, three siblings, Elliott "Spencer" Keck, Peter Matthew Kellogg, and Wendy Kellogg. His wife, mother, father Jack Keck, and 8-year--old niece Robin Mitchell were in attendance.
Keck was the first Wounded Warrior intern to serve as an Equal Employment Opportunity specialist for ATEC. Originally hired under a provisional appointment in June 2010, he was later converted to career conditional in July 2010.
From the very beginning, Kelly played a major role in the Equal Employment Opportunity Office, Utley said.
"Kelly served as the victim advocate for Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) incidents throughout ATEC. He independently developed and published a flow chart of the sequence of events for the EEO complaint process, and he had a major role in the mandatory SHARP training for the ATEC workforce.
"Kelly has always been there for others, either as a social worker, a combat medic, or a disability program manager. And on quite a number of occasions, including today, his senior leadership and his co-workers at ATEC have gathered together to honor and pay tribute to him," Utley said.
We are equally grateful for being given the rare opportunity to know a true American Soldier and citizen like Staff Sgt. Kelly Keck. Each of us will remain eternally grateful for the time we had with him."
Honors bestowed on Keck during his time with ATEC included the awarding of the Combat Action Badge by former ATEC Commander retired Maj. Gen. Genaro Dellarocco, who also was in attendance, and the Purple Heart Medal. Additionally he received a quilt from Quilts for Heroes, a local nonprofit organization founded by Carol Hanson in 2005 to honor and comfort America's Wounded Warriors.
In March 2013 Keck received the keys to a new wheelchair accessible home featuring 3,500 square feet of maneuverable space. He was often sought as a guest speaker for Wounded Warrior causes and was a member of American Legion Post 47, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8126 and the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
Co-workers and friends like ATEC?'s Carl Weimer and Jody Jackson, as well as Dr. Victoria Dixon, director of the ATEC EEO Office, remembered Keck as a people person who loved the military and embraced diversity.
"Working with Kelly was amazing and fun," Jackson said. ?"He was a visionary who always had a way of looking at things from a fresh perspective."
"He didn't have to come here but he wanted to be with us," said Dixon, who noted that Keck was inspired to work with the office after attending an ATEC-sponsored EO event featuring guest speaker Tammy Duckworth, the U.S. Congresswoman from Illinois who is an Iraq War veteran and double amputee.
"He was not only an example for Wounded Warriors, Kelly knew how others who thought they couldn't make it felt and worked to be an example of achievement to others like him. That's why we called him 'Special K.'"
Fred Posadas who along with Steve Johnson of American Legion Post 128 arranged the Patriot Guard flag detail, said Keck served as junior vice commander of the post.
"Kelly was pure military," Posadas said. "He never called me by my first name; he always called me 'sergeant major.' That was the respect he had for the military and for Wounded Warriors."
The group also served as flag bearers during Keck's funeral.
Kelly Freeman Keck
Keck joined the Marine Corps in 1994 and served as an aircraft mechanic until his discharge in 1998. In 2001, he graduated from Morehead State University in Morehead, Ky., with a degree in social work. He joined the Army in 2005 and trained to be a medic at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
Keck served as an Army combat medic for the 1st Infantry Division, 3rd Brigade, Special Troops Battalion from 2007 until he was medically retired in 2010.
In September 2008, while in an up-armored vehicle convoy in Afghanistan, the lead vehicle was damaged by a roadside bomb. As he rushed to aid fellow Soldiers, Keck stepped on an anti-personnel landmine and subsequently lost part of his right leg and left hand.
Keck met Dr. Victoria Dixon, the ATEC EEO director in 2009, while recuperating from his injuries at the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Months later, he began working in the ATEC EEO office as an intern.
Keck's awards include the Bronze Star, Army Commendation, Joint Service Achievement, Army Achievement and Purple Heart medals as well as Afghanistan campaign and Global War on Terrorism medals.
In May, Keck would have received a Silver Excellence in Federal Service Award from the Baltimore Federal Executive Board. Keck's father will accept the award on his behalf.
Social Sharing