Captain Keene was a member of the 5th Infantry Regimental Combat Team. He was seriously wounded while fighting the enemy in Korea on 29 August 1950 and evacuated to the United States on 28 November 1950. He died of those wounds on 7 August 1951.

Keene was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.