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Castor: Post Office to Be Named After Fallen Veteran

Kathy Castor | Post Office | O'Keefe

The Town ‘n Country Post Office, the busiest in the region, will be named after a fallen Tampa hero.

TOWN ‘N COUNTRY – U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D- Tampa, announced Monday (Dec. 17) that her legislation honoring the life and service of Air Force Maj. Andreas “Andy” O’Keeffe passed both chambers of Congress and is on its way to the president’s desk to be signed into law.

Castor’s bill will rename the Town ‘n Country post office in honor of Maj. O’Keefe, an important step in honoring his life and service to our community and his ultimate sacrifice for the nation.

“In dedicating a cornerstone of the Town ‘n Country community, I hope to honor Maj. O’Keeffe’s life serving our country and rescuing people around the world,” Castor said during a press conference at the post office where she was  joined by his parents, friends and former teachers from Incarnation Catholic School.  “He was not just a community hero but an American hero –  he chose to serve something bigger than himself and he gave the ultimate sacrifice for America.”

Members of Congress have the ability to pass legislation to rename certain federal buildings to commemorate and express public gratitude for distinguished individuals. (See related story, here.)

Maj. O’Keeffe graduated from Tampa Bay Tech High School, attended the University of South Florida, completed law school and answered the call to serve. He was deployed to Iraq three times, to Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, and Texas during Hurricane Harvey.  Maj. O’Keeffe was killed at age 37 on March 15 while serving during Operation Inherent Resolve, when his helicopter crashed in western Iraq.

Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera also attended the announcement.

U.S. Air Force Major Andreas “Andy” O’Keeffe | Veteran | Kathy Castor
U.S. Air Force Major Andreas “Andy” O’Keeffe

“We’re here today to honor a great American who gave it all.  Actions like this here today makes us more aware of sacrifices – from the everyday sacrifices of the families to the larger sacrifice,” Viera said. “Thank you U.S. Rep. Castor for working on this important issue.”

Mark Fetterman from Mission United, which represents Tampa Bay’s nonprofits that serve veterans, said, “As a veteran, I know we hear ‘thank you for your service’ a lot to the veterans and military members – but to the family, I think our service is defined by their sacrifice as well.”

Castor added, “Maj. O’Keeffe and his family have given so much for this country. While we can never be able to fully honor what they have sacrificed, it is important that they know we recognize and appreciate the service of Maj. O’Keeffe and this post office will serve as testament to that.  Our community and country will miss him.”

Tampa is a patriotic community and home to MacDill Air Force Base, the 6th Air Mobility Wing, U.S. Special Operations Command and U.S. Central Command – two of the Armed Forces’ most important military command outposts – and the busiest VA Hospital in America, James A. Haley Veterans Hospital.

Castor, who represents Florida’s 14th Congressional District, serves as vice ranking member of the U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee and earlier in her tenure served on the U.S. House Armed Services Committee.

For information about Castor, go to castor.house.gov.

Main photo is screen capture from video of announcement. Both photos courtesy of U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor.

Kathy Castor | Andreas “Andy” O’Keeffe | Town ‘n Country Post Office | Tampabay News

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