House votes to name bridge after general
The state House of Representatives unanimously approved legislation Monday naming the new Route 88 bridge over Ten Mile Creek after Marine Lt. Gen. William M. Keys, according to State Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson.
After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1960, Keys, a Fredericktown native, served as company commander with the 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment during the Vietnam War. He served two tours in Vietnam, repelling attacks and overrunning the enemy. He also advised the Vietnamese Marine Brigade, part of the division that recaptured and defended Quang Tri Province from the North Vietnamese Army, and was awarded the Navy Cross in 1967.
“He was far from done after the Vietnam Conflict ended,” Snyder said. “Twenty years later, General Keys served as commanding general of the 2nd Marine Division during Desert Storm in Iraq, where he prepared more than 20,500 Marines, the heaviest Marine division ever assembled, for deployment and combat operations in the Persian Gulf.”
Keys was also awarded the Silver Star, two Distinguished Service Medals, and the Cross of Gallantry during his 34-year career in the military. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1994.