Keith Bishop

Keith Bishop (Class of 1999) , was a highly decorated U.S. Army officer who was killed in action during a 2009 raid on Taliban forces in Afghanistan. Keith was 28 years old.

The youngest of five children, Keith was born in Medford on January 15, 1981. He was very interested in military service from an early age, often hearing his grandfathers tell stories about their service in the U.S. Army during World War II.

In 2003 Keith enlisted as an Infantryman in the Army and was assigned to 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, Camp Grieves, Korea. He later served with the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, on a yearlong tour in Iraq. In 2005, he was stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado. Keith loved to snowboard, so Colorado was an ideal posting. While there, he met his future wife Margaret.

In 2007, Keith was accepted into the Green Beret program, so he and Margaret moved to Fort Bragg, North Carolina where Keith attended Special Forces Selection and Assessment. He completed the Special Forces Qualification Course in October, 2008 and earned the coveted Green Beret as a Special Forces weapons sergeant. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group A. In July, 2009, Keith was deployed to Afghanistan. On October 26 of that year he was riding in a helicopter when it crashed near the village of Darreh-Ye Bum during a raid on Taliban forces.

Keith’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal; Army Commendation Medal for Valor; Army Achievement Medal; Army Good Conduct Medal; Afghanistan Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal; Korean Defense Service Medal; Iraq Campaign Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Humanitarian Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon; Army Service Ribbon; Overseas Service Ribbon; NATO Medal; Combat Infantry Badge; Air Assault Badge: Parachutist Badge and the Special Forces Tab. Finally, he received the Purple Heart.

In 2022 the Medford Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) changed the name of Post 2937 to SSG Keith Bishop in his honor. The Medford VFW Post is on Long Island Ave and has been here for 90 years serving veterans and the community.