Flags at half-staff for Cambria Heights soldier

Another Queens family is reeling after learning of the death of a second Army National Guardsman, killed in action in Afghanistan.
Sergeant First Class Joseph McKay, of Cambria Heights, was killed on June 26 -- only five days after Sergeant Andrew Seabrooks, of South Ozone Park, died.
McKay would have turned 52 on Independence Day, and was scheduled to return home on leave in July, according to published reports.
While patrolling near Forward Operating Base Shank in Logar Province, eastern Afghanistan, McKay’s humvee was struck by an improvised explosive devise (IED), small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades, taking his life and the lives of Specialist Mark Palmateer of Poughkeepsie, NY and Sergeant First Class Matthew Hilton of Livonia, MI.
McKay’s family members, on the day after a uniformed soldier delivered them the dreaded news, did not wish to comment, but neighbors recalled a kind, caring man.
“He was always considered a nice fellow — a good neighbor to have around,” said Carl Newallo, who remembered McKay shoveling snow for people on the block.
Newallo said he was saddened and “very concerned, very concerned - a lot of prayers,” as his son-in-law recently left to serve in Iraq via Kuwait.
Eugene Moore has lived across the street from the McKays for 30 years and called the fallen soldier a “real gentleman.”
McKay’s death “brings it [the war] very close to home and has me looking at the whole thing in a whole other eye,” Moore said.
“It’s just sad to hear, even if you didn’t know him,” said a woman from out of town visiting neighbors of the McKays.
Governor David Paterson directed that flags on state government buildings throughout New York be flown at half-staff on July 3, and said the sacrifice of McKay and his fellow soldiers “will be honored and valued forever.”
McKay, who joined the Army National Guard in 1977, was honored for his service in New York City following 9/11 and was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Action Badges posthumously. He is survived by a wife, a daughter and two sons.