BACKGROUND
Born: May 12, 1952, New York City, NY
Birth Certificate: John Kevin McKeown
Baptized: Kevin Robert McKeown
Why the difference? I'm not sure, but I've been called "Kevin" my whole life.
I spent the first six years of my life in lower New York and New Jersey, living in Lake Mohawk, NJ, The Bronx, Queens, and Huntington, Long Island, NY.
In 1958, my family moved to Brevard County, Florida, where my father worked at Patrick Air Force Base as the civil deputy chief of transportation. When my father died in 1962 (I was 10), we moved back to New York, where we again lived in the Bronx, Queens Village, Ronkonkoma, Bellerose, and Floral Park.
My first two years of High School were at Bishop Reilly HS in
Fresh Meadows, NY. When my mother could no longer afford to pay tuition, I
transferred to Floral Park Memorial HS in Floral Park. I graduated in 1970,
hoping to be appointed to the US Air Force Academy in order to pursue a career
as an astronaut. Although I passed all academic and physical fitness
requirements, my nearsightedness kept me from obtaining a waiver, and I was
deeply disappointed for the first time in my life. I ended up attending Florida
Institute of Technology, back again in Melbourne, Florida. They didn't have Air
Force ROTC, so I took Army ROTC. This was 4 months after Kent State. I didn't do
so well at FIT, but seemed to do well in ROTC. As I approached my 21st birthday,
I realized that I would no longer be eligible for an Academy appointment if I
didn't get going. That's when I decided to try for West Point.
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