The McKeon Media Tour Continues...

We often catch a lot of grief from fellow military friends about the fact that Frank has received a lot of "media attention" this past year relating to his deployment....here's another reason to take some heat :) The following article was published in the Lafayette Journal & Courier, a local newspaper where Frank is originally from. We tried to get the story to be about his mom so that Cheryl would have a moment to shine, but it didn't really work...

"Local siblings serving in Iraq."

By Bob Scott • bscott@journalandcourier.com • September 18, 2008

"Lafayette family has two children in National Guard."

Lafayette mother Cheryl McKeon will have mixed feelings Friday.

Her son Frank will visit during a leave from Iraq, but her daughter Ashley remains in Baghdad.

The siblings are serving in separate units with the Indiana National Guard.

"Ashley won't be able to come home until January or February," she said. "He went to Iraq before she did, so she has to wait awhile.

"It'll be great to see Frank again. Everybody is taking Friday off."

1st Lt. Frank McKeon, 27, is with his wife, Amanda, in Noblesville as part of a 15-day leave.

Spc. Ashley McKeon, 24, is engaged, and her fiancé is serving in Afghanistan.

Frank said Tuesday that he is happy to be back in Indiana.

"It'll be great to be together," he said. "My mom, aunt and sisters will be there," he said.

A 2000 graduate of Jefferson High School, Frank joined the National Guard later that year and is on his second deployment to Iraq. His first tour was from 2003 to 2004.

Ashley, who earned a GED (general educational development diploma) from Jefferson, joined the National Guard three years ago.

The McKeon family is close, said Cheryl, who is a widow. Frank is the second of four children. Ashley is the youngest.

"On Frank's first tour, he went at Christmas time," the mother said. "It was the first Christmas without us all being together.

"That was hard on us."

Frank and his Lafayette relatives used Web cams to give each other Christmas greetings. The siblings also stay in touch with e-mail, instant messaging and cell phones.

Frank commands 50 men and protects convoys in northern and central Iraq. Two weeks ago, he dropped in on Ashley at her supply unit in Baghdad.

Ashley didn't know her brother was coming. Her commanding officer ordered her to report outside the supply depot.

"She's at full attention, and the officer told her to look to the right. There was Frank," Cheryl said.

"Ashley ran and jumped into his arms."

Cheryl said she is proud of Frank and Ashley, who have several relatives with military experience.

"Their dad was in the Air Force, and my uncles on my mom's side were in the Air Force, Marines and Army," she said.

She said Ashley will join the U.S. Army when her tour is finished in Iraq.

"Ashley said, 'Mom, I get it. When I'm with the National Guard, I totally get it,' " she said.

Frank said he has noticed changes in Iraq from his first tour five years ago to his current deployment.

For example, he said soldiers now have plenty of ice and air conditioning.

"We aren't living in tents anymore," he said. "We have trailers with AC.

"Simple things like that are important."

He said the Iraqi government and military are playing bigger roles in the war.

"There is more coordination as far as missions are concerned," he said.

"The country is trying to stand up for itself."