Fifteen Army veterans will be inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame during a ceremony this week at Fort Benning, Georgia.
The induction is being held Wednesday during the Annual Ranger Muster, which is a major gathering for the Ranger community. This annual ceremony honors Army Rangers “who have demonstrated extraordinary valor, leadership, and commitment to the Ranger Creed,” according to the press release.
“It is a privilege to bestow the honor of induction into the Ranger Hall of Fame to a highly selected group of distinguished Rangers who have given a lifetime of service to our Nation and the Ranger community,” said retired Lt. Gen. P.K. “Ken” Keen, president of the Ranger Hall of Fame board, in an email message to U.S. Military Publishing. “Bestowing this honor involves deep respect for the inductees, recognizing their selfless service while on active duty as a Ranger and continuing to serve the Ranger community.
“Induction into the Ranger Hall of Fame embodies the idea of legacy, as it highlights the historical significance of the Ranger tradition and encourages future generations to live the Ranger Creed. It embodies what it means to be a ‘Ranger For Life’.”
The Ranger Hall of Fame has been honoring members of the Ranger community since 1992, when the first 23 members were inducted. The inaugural group included such notable Rangers as Lt. Gen. David E. Grange Jr., namesake of the annual Best Ranger Competition; Medal of Honor recipient and retired Col. Ralph Puckett; Maj. Gen. Frank D. Merrill, commander of Merrill’s Marauders; and Maj. Robert Rogers, who led Rogers’ Rangers during the French and Indian War and is credited with writing the “28 Rules of Ranging” still used by Army Ranger’s today.
After this year’s ceremony, there will be 518 Rangers in the Hall of Fame (a complete searchable list is available on the Ranger Legacy Foundation’s website).
Among this year’s honorees is Keni Thomas, who served in the Army for seven years. Thomas was instrumental in 1993’s Operation Gothic Serpent, which was later immortalized in the book and movie “Black Hawk Down.”
“During the Battle of Mogadishu in October 1993, Ranger Thomas displayed remarkable courage amid one of the fiercest urban battles in U.S. military history,” notes his bio in the 2025 Ranger Hall of Fame program. “When his squad leader was wounded, Thomas took command, leading his men to secure a downed Black Hawk helicopter. Outnumbered 10 to 1, he and his fellow Rangers defended their position for 18 hours under intense enemy fire. His actions, rooted in selfless service and intestinal fortitude, earned him the Bronze Star with Valor and reflected the Rangers’ sacred commitment to never leave a fallen comrade.”
Even though Thomas’ father served as an Army Ranger during the Vietnam War, Thomas initially wanted to be a pilot. However, his impatience with the wait time for flight slot openings caused his recruiter to recommend a different route.
“The reason I went into Ranger regiment was because I knew my dad had been a Ranger,” he said during a recent phone interview, “and it just seemed like something you looked up to.”
After the Battle of Mogadishu, Thomas attended training schools and served in the Ranger Reconnaissance Detachment before leaving the military in 1998.
But he never left behind his Ranger ethos.
Thomas now makes his living as a singer, songwriter and speaker, traveling the country and the world inspiring leadership using Ranger principles. In addition to USO tours to perform for troops deployed overseas, Thomas is a successful motivational speaker who uses his experience in the Army and in combat to show what true leadership looks like.
“Ranger School is just a three-month suckfest,” he said. “But it teaches you to lead people who don’t want to be led.”
And it taught him how to step up when the situation called for it during the Battle of Mogadishu. When his squad leader got shot, Thomas was handed the radio and told, “You’re in charge.”
“I think the lesson you learn is you don’t have to be happy about the soup sandwich that you get handed, but you got to own it because there’s people counting on you,” he said. “And if you don’t own it, who will?”
Thomas said he’s still trying to wrap his head around being inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame.
“It’s such, in the truest sense of the word, it’s such an honor and such a responsibility,” he said, even though it feels anathema to the “quiet professional” mentality. However, he admitted that much of his post-service life also goes against that mentality.
“But I think that’s why I got inducted — because I’m out there telling the story of the Rangers, and so it’s a responsibility. It’s just a continuation of what I’ve been doing.”
2025 U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame inductees
Capt. Robert S. Brewer, Jr.
Col. (Ret) Michael Foster
Sgt. Robert Edward Foti
Capt. Ralph E. Goranson
Master Sgt. (Ret) Jose Gordon
Master Sgt. Robert Horrigan
Col. (Ret) Henrik O. Lunde
Gen. (Ret) Austin S. Miller
Sgt. Maj. (Ret) Tyson Nick
Master Sgt. (Ret) Anthony Paul Nunley
Command Sgt. Maj. (Ret) James D. Pippin
Command Sgt. Maj. (Ret) George D. Ponder
Sgt. Thomas N. Sove
Sgt. Alfred Charles Stewart, Jr.
Staff Sgt. Kenneth Thomas
