John B. Keeley *57

John Keeley, an expert in military and national security affairs, died Feb. 20, 2004, of pneumonia following lung-cancer surgery in Alexandria, Va. He was 74.

Son of a career Army officer, Keeley graduated from West Point in 1952, earned a master's from Princeton in politics, and returned to West Point to teach from 1957-60. He served in Vietnam during the Tet offensive as commander of an infantry battalion responsible for maintaining open roadways to Saigon and subsequently commanded the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Armored Division in West Germany.

Retiring from the Army at the rank of colonel in 1976, he taught over the years at the U. Va., Georgetown, and the Naval War College in Newport, R.I, where he also founded a think tank called the Newport Institute. In addition, he worked as military-affairs commentator for CNN, and took civilian posts as director of policy guidance at the CIA, and as national security aide for Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.).

Keeley was a volunteer for organizations that benefitted children suffering from terminal illnesses and became board chairman of Children's Hospice International in Alexandria.

He leaves his wife, Catherine, four children, and four grandchildren.