Freedom Remembered

Born: July 4, 1956
Died: June 26, 2008 in Fob Shank, Afghanistan

Sgt. 1st Class Joseph A. McKay of Brooklyn, New York joined the Army National Guard in August of 1977 and was promoted to Sgt. 1st Class in May of 2005. Prior to being assigned to B Troop 101st Cavalry, he was a member of G Company 427th Brigade Support Battalion, based in Jamaica, New York. Joseph joined the United States Army shortly after emigrating from Guyana, then reached back to help his mother and siblings join him in America. Years later, he rejoined the military after the 9/11 terror attacks, leaving a butcher’s job to help make his adopted America safe. Military service runs in his family. One brother is serving a second tour in Iraq. And Joseph’s daughter, Tiffany, returned recently from her own second tour there. A nephew serves in the Marines. Joseph intended to leave the service when his deployment was over. He had been a bicycling enthusiast since his youth in Guyana, once riding 120 miles from Prospect Park to Montauk Point. Just after his death, fellow cyclists shared memories of Joseph at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field, where he frequently competed in Tuesday night races. He was always considered a nice fellow, a good neighbor to have around. He would often shovel snow for people on the block. His awards include the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Combat Action Badge awarded posthumously; the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the New York State Aid to Civil Authorities and the New York State Defense of Liberty Medal, awarded for service in New York City following the 9/11 attacks. The three-decade National Guard veteran was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Combat Action Badge for their service in Afghanistan. He died from wounds suffered June 26 near Forward Operating Base Shank, Afghanistan, when his convoy encountered improvised explosive devices, small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. He was 51.
Army
National Guard
2nd Squadron
101st Cavalry Regiment
Jamestown, New York

Burial is at Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York – Sec R Site 8-I

The Sgt 1st Class Joseph A. McKay by Freedom Remembered, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.