Scope and Contents

The collection consists of a summary of 1st Lieutenant John O'Keefe, Jr.'s U.S. Army service in Vietnam and Cambodia based on an interview conducted by Commander Paul Rogers on May 1, 2023.

Biographical / Historical

Lt. John Vincent O'Keefe, Jr. served in Vietnam and Cambodia with the U.S. Army from 1969-1971. He joined ROTC at the University of Washington in Seattle. On 15 June, 1969 he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. He received training as a Commmunications and Electronic Staff Officer at Ft. Gordon, MD from September 1969 to January 1970. He completed basic infantry training at Ft. Benning, GA from February to July 1970. He was then promoted to the rank of 1st Lieutenant before being deployed to Vietnam and Cambodia from September 1970 to July 1971. His initial mission was to oversee and manage communications infrastructure at three sites in Cambodia. He managed teams at each site that handled the relay of multiple types of communications for the military in Cambodia and the wider region. He was then taken on by Colonel Brown, Commander of the 160th Signal Brigade at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, as his adjutant. He received the Bronze Star for his service. After his tour, he transferred to the Army Reserve where he served for a few more years. He was honorably discharged from the Army in April 1975. Following his military service, he pursued a career in business.