Army Spc. David M. McKeever

Died April 5, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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25, of Buffalo, N.Y.; assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Giessen, Germany; killed April 5 when individuals using a rocket-propelled-grenade ambushed his unit in Baghdad.

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Family, friends grieve for soldier killed in Iraq

By Carolyn Thompson

Associated Press

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The devastation wrought by the rocket-propelled grenade that killed David McKeever in Iraq was felt in Buffalo on Wednesday as friends and family said goodbye to the Army sergeant who came within weeks of finishing his tour.

“David was a hero, a real hero,” said George Miller, who sang for the dozens of mourners filling a funeral parlor in the neighborhood where the 25-year-old grew up.

McKeever, the married father of a 1-year-old boy, was on patrol with seven other soldiers in Baghdad on April 5 when the grenade struck their Humvee. Army officials told the family he was rushed to a hospital but did not survive.

He was scheduled to leave Iraq on Wednesday.

McKeever was buried last week in Kearney, Neb., where his wife, Niki, and son, Dylan, have been living with her family while McKeever was overseas. McKeever’s wife asked that her husband be buried in Nebraska so that their son can visit his grave.

Dylan McKeever, dressed in a navy suit, squirmed on the laps of family members during the service. His father’s Army duffel bag and combat helmet sat at the front of the room, beneath a picture of the soldier in uniform.

Sprays of red and white flowers tied with blue ribbon flanked the picture. A proclamation from the Buffalo Common Council was propped on one side.

“Whereas David McKeever, who understood the danger of war, will be fondly remembered by family and friends as a fun-loving, easygoing guy, who was well-liked by everyone who came in contact with him,” the proclamation read, in part.

Mourners were invited outside to watch the release of seven white doves that funeral director John Murphy said symbolized faith, hope, love and peace. A riderless horse draped in an American flag was escorted past as onlookers from neighboring businesses emptied onto the sidewalk to pay respect.

After the service, McKeever’s father, David, recalled a conversation with his son as he headed anxiously to war. The father, a Vietnam veteran who had been wounded by shrapnel, knew what his son was feeling.

“I said ‘I don’t want you to be a hero. I just want you to come home,”’ the father said.

Upon his death, the Army awarded McKeever a Bronze Star for heroic service and a Purple Heart.

McKeever joined the Army after graduating from South Park High School in 1997. A member of the 1st Armored Division, he was promoted from the rank of specialist about a week before his death.

Besides his wife, son and father, he is survived by his mother, Carol, a brother and four sisters.

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Widow of soldier killed in Iraq mourns in Kearney

KEARNEY, Neb. — Niki McKeever was preparing to drive to Omaha before flying to Germany to meet her husband after his tour of duty in Iraq when a car carrying two military men pulled up.

“I saw two Army guys get out with their Class A’s (dress uniforms) on, and I just knew, just like a movie,” Mrs. McKeever said, her voice trailing off.

Spec. David McKeever, 25, had been killed in Iraq on April 5 when his unit was ambushed while guarding a hospital. It happened only 15 days before he was set to leave that war torn country.

“He was counting down the days,” Mrs. McKeever said. “Two more weeks, and he would have been home.”

McKeever will be buried in Kearney, his widow said, so their 1-year-old son, Dylan, can visit his grave.

McKeever, originally from Buffalo, N.Y., is the second soldier with Kearney ties to die in Iraq since the war began one year ago. Army Sgt. Dennis A. Corral of Kearney died Jan. 1 in a traffic accident.

Mrs. McKeever and her son have been staying with her parents, Don and Cheryl Trew of Kearney, for the last 11 months while her husband was overseas.

Mrs. McKeever learned of her husband’s death the day after he died. She had last talked with him hours before he was killed. “He always told me they (Iraqis) don’t appreciate what was being done for them, despite what the media says,” she said.

McKeever’s unit of about 30 soldiers was attacked with a rocket-propelled grenade and McKeever was the only one killed. A week eaarlier, he had been approved for promotion to sergeant.

Mrs. McKeever said she didn’t know where she and her son ultimately will decide to live.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do and how to raise my son without a father,” she said.

Standing less than 2 feet tall, brown-eyed Dylan, who Mrs. McKeever said looks more and more like his father, is oblivious to what has happened.

“Little David. He’s the one who’s going to get me through it,” Niki said, her face red from holding back the tears.

McKeever joined the military straight out of high school and met his wife while he was stationed at Fort Carson, Colo., in 2002. Two months later, the couple were married.

Three months after they were married, the couple went to Germany, and Dylan was born in February 2003. McKeever went to Iraq in May.

In late October, McKeever returned to Kearney to visit his family as part of a two week leave. McKeever, his wife and Dylan also spent a week in New York visiting with his family.

The last time Mrs. McKeever saw her husband, he was preparing to get on a plane in Omaha to return to Iraq.

Her husband cried, Mrs. McKeever said.

“David doesn’t cry,” she said. “I knew he didn’t want to go back. He was afraid to go back. He didn’t want to leave his son.”

Mrs. McKeever said she will forever remember her husband as a fun-loving person who would do anything for her.

“I just want people to know what those guys go through over there and what they do for this country,” Mrs. McKeever said.

— Associated Press

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Soldier, two weeks away from coming home, killed in Iraq

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Sgt. David McKeever had just 15 days left in Iraq when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his vehicle and killed him, his brother said.

The 25-year-old had a new promotion, had just re-enlisted in the Army and, despite being on the front lines in a war zone, had been in high spirits as he neared a reunion with his wife and 1-year-old son in Nebraska and his parents and the rest of his family in Buffalo.

“He seemed like he was in high spirits and ready to come home,” Thomas McKeever said.

The family got the news March 6.

“The soldiers came to my mother’s house and they said he was attacked in an ambush in Baghdad” a day earlier, McKeever said. “His vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and he was alive when they went to the hospital, but he died when he got there.”

McKeever’s wife, Nicki, was told her husband was one of eight people in the vehicle and the only one to die.

“It was crazy because every time I’d turn on the news and see that a U.S. soldier was killed in Iraq, when it first started happening, I would get nervous every time, waiting to hear a name, waiting to hear a name,” McKeever, 24, said, “and I’d find out it wasn’t my brother.

“Then it was like I just took it for granted, that every time I heard that, it wasn’t my brother,” he said. “I guess all it takes is that one time.”

The son of Carol and David McKeever, a Vietnam veteran, McKeever had been promoted a week before he died from the rank of specialist to sergeant and had recently re-enlisted. But it was spending time with his family, especially 1-year-old Dylan, that he really looked forward to, his younger brother said.

“He wanted to spend time with his kid ... He was definitely a good father,” he said.

McKeever joined the Army immediately after graduating from South Park High School in 1997. He was a member of the Army’s 1st Armored Division.

— Associated Press

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Kearney plans services for soldier

KEARNEY, Neb. — The community of Kearney is planning services for Thursday to remember U.S. Army Sgt. David M. McKeever, who died April 5 in Baghdad.

McKeever was killed when his unit was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.

McKeever, originally from Buffalo, N.Y., will be buried in Kearney, said Niki McKeever, so their 1-year-old son, Dylan, can visit his grave.

Services will be at 2 p.m. at First United Methodist Church with the Rev. Marvin Koelling officiating.

Burial will be at Kearney Cemetery with military rites by Fort Riley, Kan., Honors Detail.

— Associated Press