America was built by the service of generations of ordinary people who did extraordinary things.
Keith A. Ware, contracting officer representative at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG), has lived this more than most. Representing the third consecutive generation of his family to have served in uniform, Ware is the grandson of Maj. Gen. Keith Lincoln Ware, one of the most distinguished Army officers of the last century.
Ware is continuing this legacy of service in a new off-duty role: he recently accepted an appointment to a vacancy on the Yuma Elementary School District #1 Board. His service will begin in January and last for at least the remaining year of his predecessor’s unexpired term.
“My goals are to focus on the quality and availability of education for the children,” Ware said. “I’m keeping that in the forefront of my mind. Shaping the children with their education is going to continue to grow our community-- they are our future.”
Ware credits his father-in-law, Danny Bryant, with inspiring him to apply for the vacancy.
“He’s served on a number of community boards in Yuma. I’ve watched him influence and improve the quality of the Yuma community. He’s been dedicated for decades, and I’ve observed the personal gratification of seeing the community grow and prosper based on his serving on boards.”
Born in Yuma while his father served at YPG as an air traffic controller, Ware grew up here, graduated from Kofa High School, and worked on the range for a summer as a teenager prior to serving in the Air Force in the 1990s. He expects these roots in the Yuma community to deepen.
“I’ve raised my children here. I have a grandson that’s going to grow up here.”
Ware’s grandfather, the first Officer Candidate School graduate to become a general officer, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor during World War II, served as the Army’s Chief of Information, and was killed in action in Vietnam while commanding the 1st Infantry Division. Numerous buildings, a school, and a parade ground at Army posts across the nation have been named in his honor, as have the Army’s prestigious award for journalism and other public affairs activities.
“My grandfather has been the core of my commitment in my service in the Air Force. I never met him, but the legacy he left behind for our family and the nation has been amazing. To this day, I run into people who served under him or had family members who did, and every one of them has had something positive to say.”
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