WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives has approved the renaming of the Pine Plains Post Office after Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent, a Dutchess County native.
She was killed in Syria by a suicide bomber during her fifth combat tour in the Middle East last January. She was 35 at the time of her death.
Congressman Antonio Delgado (D, NY-19), who sponsored the bill, said Kent’s “service and dedication to this country should be an example for us all. I will continue to work to make this bill law to serve as a daily reminder of her heroism and sacrifice.”
The Senate must also approve the bill and the president must sign it.
In 2016, Senior Chief Kent survived thyroid cancer, and in 2018 commissioned for a special officer program to earn a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. She was later disqualified, having not met the required medical standards established under Department of Defense Instruction code to commission as an officer in the armed forces.
She appealed, and was denied a waiver by the Navy, and in November 2018, deployed to Syria.
Kent was the recipient of the Bronz Star, the Purple Heart, two Joint Service Commendation Medals, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Joint Service Achievement Medal.
Senior Chief Kent was a wife and mother of two children.
