Bridgeport in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Lt. Joseph T. (Jay) McKeon Jr. Park

Photographed By Sean Flynn

1. Lt. Joseph T. (Jay) McKeon Jr. Park Marker

Inscription. In Memory of
Lt. Joseph T. (Jay)
McKeon Jr. Park
U.S. Marine Corps
Born December 13, 1943
Killed in action:
Vietnam: May 18th, 1967

Erected 1967 by City of Chicago.

Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Parks & Recreational Areas • Patriots & Patriotism • War, Vietnam.

Location. 41° 49.749′ N, 87° 38.482′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Bridgeport. Memorial is at the intersection of Wallace Street and 36th Street on Wallace Street. The marker is the sign for the park at the northwest corner of 36th and Wallace. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3548 South Wallace Street, Chicago IL 60609, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Carlton Fisk (approx. 0.3 miles away); Mark Buehrle (approx. 0.3 miles away); Jackie Robinson (approx. 0.3 miles away); Billy Pierce (approx. 0.3 miles away); Frank Thomas (approx. 0.3 miles away); Ted Lyons (approx. 0.3 miles away); Paul Konerko (approx. 0.3 miles away); Luis Aparicio (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

More about this marker. The park originally known as Wallace

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Playlot (for its adjoining street) was a block from the funeral home owned by Joseph McKeon Sr. It was rededicated in honor of Lt. McKeon in October 1967, about five months after his death, at the best of Mayor Richard J. Daley, who spent his whole life living in this Bridgeport neighborhood. Mayor Daley did not attend the park renaming ceremony, due to his wife's surgery, but he was on hand when McKeon's mother received her son's Silver Star in 1968. The McKeon Funeral Home was torn down in 2020.

Regarding Lt. Joseph T. (Jay) McKeon Jr. Park. Joseph Jr. was awarded a posthumous Silver Star for his actions in May of 1967, when he led a battalion in a fierce fight against Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces during Operation Beaver Cage in Tinh Quang Nam Province.

McKeon attended Nativity of Our Lord School in Bridgeport and De La Salle High School, to the east of the neighborhood, before attending Harvard University. His father, the proprietor of McKeon Funeral Home, died in January 1967, at age 49. Both father and son were buried that year in a family plot at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Alsip, a southwest suburb of Chicago.

Also see . . .
1. In Bridgeport, a play lot keeps memories of a fallen soldier alive. A 2023 Chicago Tribune article, which includes details and

Lt. Joseph T. (Jay) McKeon Jr. Park image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Sean Flynn, October 28, 2023

2. Lt. Joseph T. (Jay) McKeon Jr. Park

photographs of the dedication of McKeon Park some 56 years earlier. (Submitted on November 1, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

2. Chicago Park District: McKeon (Joseph) Park. (Submitted on November 1, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Credits. This page was last revised on November 4, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 1, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 73 times since then and 28 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 1, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.