To the Editor,
I was very sad to read the obituary of Detective Robert McKiernan, whom I believe exemplifies the finest qualities of a law enforcement officer and Marine. I’ve thought of Detective McKiernan often and consider him stellar-i.e., excellent in every way. He was tall, handsome, compassionate and persistent. Most importantly, he was committed to do the right thing at the grass roots level. People like Detective McKiernan make the world a better place.
Six years ago, Detective McKiernan solved the disappearance of my mother Mary’s gold Rolex watch after she was transported from Greenwich Hospital to Nathaniel Witherell. My mother, age 91, was recovering from a hip replacement operation. This was a particularly heinous crime, since my mother was frail elderly and the watch was a gift from my dad. I was incensed and Detective McKiernan was very sympathetic. Using a computer database and the serial number I provided, he traced the watch to a pawnshop in Bridgeport, CT and quickly identified the perpetrator. The watch was returned to my family and the perpetrator punished. No one at either Greenwich Hospital, or Nathaniel Witherell were involved.
When I first met Detective McKiernan to discuss the case and provide documentation that the watch belonged to my mother I asked him if he had ever served in the military? He told me both he and his wife served in Operation Desert Storm. I told him I also served as an Army Reserve physician stationed at SANG Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I had an instant connection with him.
In these turbulent times, when some officers are vilified Detective McKiernan was a role model of professionalism and we are a Band of Brothers. He will be missed. My deepest condolences to his family, especially his mother, wife Mary Abigail and his three sons Sean, Ben and John. Your son, husband and father was stellar.
By John Riefler
