US Army Major / Rockland Native KIA

[ryguy12fd 33]

from LoHud...

http://www.lohud.com...|text|Frontpage

The family of a decorated Army officer from New City was mourning Thursday after receiving news that their loved one was killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan.Maj. Thomas E. Kennedy was serving in the U.S. Army in support of Operation Enduring Freedom when the bomber detonated a suicide vest Wednesday in Sarkowi, located in the Kunar province of the war-torn nation, said officials in the U.S. Department of Defense.

Kennedy, 35, was killed alongside Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin J. Griffin, 45, of Laramie, Wyo. Both men had been assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Worth, Colo., said Capt. Anthony Hoefler, a spokesman for the DOD.

Killed alongside the men was Maj. Walter D. Gray of the U.S. Air Force, Hoefler said.

Kennedy, who grew up in New City and attended Clarkstown schools in addition to Don Bosco Preparatory School in Ramsey, N.J.

, and the Salisbury Preparatory School in Connecticut, entered the Army on May 27, 2000, after graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Between February 2003 and February 2004 and again from August 2005 through August 2006, he was deployed in Iraq. His most recent deployment, his only one to Afghanistan, came on July 18, Hoefler said.

Kennedy had been recognized a number of times as a serviceman, earning dozens of awards and service medals. Among them are the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation and the Valorous Unit Award. He was awarded a Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart posthumously, Hoefler said.

Reached at her home in Crested Butte, Colo., Kennedy’s aunt, Eileen Kennedy Hughes, said he leaves behind a wife, Kami, and two twin children, a boy and a girl under age 2.

Kennedy Hughes described him as a kind man, who often wore a smile.

“He was committed to his service,” she said. “He graduated from West Point and had several master’s degrees. He served in Iraq and could have gotten out, but he stuck with it.”

Kennedy is the son of George Kennedy, a former U.S. Coast Guard member and retired New York City police detective, and Patricia Kennedy. The couple raised their children, who include Thomas Kennedy’s brothers John Kennedy and George Kennedy.

Kennedy Hughes said Thomas Kennedy had recently moved his family to Colorado.

Friends from Thomas Kennedy’s days at Don Bosco set up a fundraiser on YouCaring.com. The fundraiser has already raised more than $10,000 for Thomas’ wife and children.

[efdcapt115 1,511]

Rest In Peace Sir.

Never Forget.

[billy98988 107]

RIP.

[BFD1054 1,552]

Rest in peace good sir.

Thank you for your service.

[SageVigiles 1,194]

Rest in Peace Major. Thank you for your service. Godspeed.

[ex-commish 490]

Major rest in peace...God Bless!!

[SmokeyJoe 161]

Rest in peace brother. Thank you for your service and sacrifice.

[fireboyny 61]

Rest in Peace. God bless you, your family, and all our servicemen, and servicewoman.

[210 91]

_RIP.

[RJB896 12]

Rest in Peace