Cicilline Bill Honoring Rhode Island Hero Moves Towards House Floor
Cicilline Bill Honoring Rhode Island Hero Moves Towards House Floor
Legislation to rename Bristol Post Office for First Sergeant P. Andrew McKenna Jr.,
who died fighting in Kabul in 2015, passes key House committee
WASHINGTON – The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today approved
passage of H.R.4685, legislation introduced by Congressman David N. Cicilline
(RI-01), and co-sponsored by Congressman Jim Langevin (RI-01), last December to
rename the U.S. Post Office located at 515 Hope Street in Bristol, Rhode Island, as
the «First Sergeant P. Andrew McKenna Jr. Post Office.»
«Throughout his life, Sergeant McKenna represented the very highest examples of
service, duty, and sacrifice,» said Cicilline. «I thank the Committee for moving
forward to honor this great man and the life he led. We should have a permanent
reminder of the values that Sergeant McKenna embodied and the ultimate sacrifice he
made in defense of our country.»
An Army Green Beret and lifelong Bristol resident, U.S. Army Special Forces 1st
Sergeant P. Andrew McKenna Jr., died August 7, 2015, during a Taliban attack on Camp
Integrity, a NATO facility in Kabul, Afghanistan. During his 17 years of service,
Sergeant McKenna the Bronze Star with V device and the Meritorious Service Medal. He
completed five tours of duty in Afghanistan and one in Iraq,
Sergeant McKenna joined the Army as an infantryman one month after graduating from
Mount Hope High School in 1998. and he graduated magna cum laude from Norwich
University in 2015, earning a bachelor’s degree in strategic studies. He was
planning to pursue a master’s degree once his deployment ended.
Cicilline first met Sergeant McKenna in 2015 during the Bristol Fourth of July
Parade, where he thanked him for his service. He later invited Sergeant McKenna’s
parents, Carol and Peter, to attend President Barack Obama’s final State of the
Union Address in 2016.
A companion bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senator Jack Reed (D-RI).