Army Sgt. Keith A. Coe

Died April 27, 2010 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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30, of Auburndale, Fla.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.; died April 27 in Khalis, Iraq, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an explosive device.

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‘Coe Daddy’ served as the family prankster

The Associated Press

Keith Coe and his brother, Matt, had a rough childhood and didn’t always get along. But that didn’t keep them from being close friends later in life.

As kids, Matt would say, “Let’s go to Blockbuster and get a movie.” Keith would reply, “Let’s get on top of Blockbuster and make a movie.”

“He kicked the crap out of me for the first 11 years of my life. You know, big brother stuff,” Matt Coe said.

Keith Coe also was the family prankster, the man known to his soldiers as “Coe Daddy” who worked extra hard to make sure the men reporting to him couldn’t outdo him.

The 30-year-old from Auburndale, Fla., was killed April 27 in Khalis, Iraq. He was assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

Keith Coe got into some trouble with the law and spent time in jail, but made a complete turnaround when he was released, his family said. He met his wife at a restaurant the pair worked at, and they capped off their marriage with a Hawaiian-themed wedding, said his grandmother Dawn Jones. Of course, grass hula skirts had to be part of the deal.

Among those surviving Coe are his wife, Katrina; two sons, Killian and Keith Jr., and a daughter, Klover.