Major Kevin M. Jenrette Memorial Dedication

Howard Mount didn’t like it at first when he was asked to give up having a room by himself at Lyman Ward Academy, but he did it anyway and gained a great friend in the process.  The cadet that joined Mount in his room was Kevin Jenrette.  “Col. (Bill) Jenrette asked me, ‘ Would you let Kevin room with you?’” Mount said Friday. “I said ‘aye, sir’ and said it was OK with a smile, but I was lying.”  Mount and Kevin Jenrette didn’t speak much the first two or three weeks when they shared the same room at the Camp Hill institution, but that soon would change.

photo by Brent Maze Salute to Kevin: Members of the Lyman Ward Military Academy honor guard raise the flag while Col. Bill Jenrette and others salute during a dedication ceremony for the Kevin Jenrette memorial.

The two later became good friends.  Mount, who is a 1988 graduate of Lyman Ward returned to Camp Hill to honor his friend and helped dedicate a memorial to Kevin Jenrette, who died in June 2009 after being injured from an explosive and arms fire in Afghanistan. 

“Kevin embodied what this school is all about – honor, duty and faith,” Mount said. “The world doesn’t put out many Kevin Jenrettes. I am proud to say I knew one of them.”

Former cadets and friends of the fallen soldier donated money to the school to sponsor the memorial. School counselor Jeff Damron said the school decided to keep the names of the donors anonymous.