Soldiers, family, friends and supporters gathered at the National Guard State Armory in Jamaica to pay homage to a fallen soldier, Sergeant First Class Joseph McKay. He was a member of the 27th Infantry Brigade Team and one of three men killed when their convoy was ambushed by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) that struck their vehicle in Eastern Afghanistan on June 26, 2008.
First Sergeant Troy Haley often paused to hold back the tears as he talked about Sergeant McKay. The 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team had introduced him to amazing people, he said. Joseph McKay was one of them. Haley described McKay saying “he was kind, he was gentle, and he was a leader.”
McKay never said a harsh word, Haley added. McKay’s wife smiled and nodded in agreement. Haley believed that the words to define McKay were simply “selfless server.” McKay was an immigrant, he explained, born on the fourth of July in Guyana, South America. He came to the United States and joined the Army. “He will not be forgotten,” he promised Rose.
Phil Taylor of the American Fallen Soldiers Project, a non-profit organization, honors fallen soldiers by presenting their next of kin with hand painted portraits to their families free of charge. Taylor presented the McKay family, Rose and children Tanisha Segra, 23, and Shane McKay, 15, with the portrait of their husband and father to pay tribute for his service on Friday, July 10.
“You can have Jo with you,” he said. “Kiss him, hug him, touch him.” Taylor recounted some of the memories that Rose had shared with him. McKay was the kind of man that gave his army meals to the homeless Taylor said.
Rose McKay shared gratitude with the Family Readiness Group for helping her through the loss of her husband. “I know I wasn’t easy,” she laughed “but I thank you from the bottom of my heart.” Crying freely she added, “I am so proud of him…my JoJo.”
