Operation Iraqi Freedom, Fallen Heroes, Iraq War 03/19/03

Charles H Keating IV

San Diego, California

May 3, 2016

Age Military Rank Unit/Location
31 Navy SWO 1st Class

West Coast-based Navy SEAL Team

 Killed in Tall Usquf, Iraq, of combat related causes.

From The Republic azcentral.com 05/03/16:

Navy SEAL Charlie Keating, Arcadia grad and grandson of Charles Keating, killed in Iraq
Craig Harris, Robert Anglen and Anne Ryman, The Republic | azcentral.com 6:20 p.m. MST May 3, 2016

Navy SEAL Charlie Keating, an acclaimed Arcadia High School distance runner and grandson of the famous S&L financier with the same name, died in northern Iraq Tuesday.

Navy SEAL Charlie Keating, an acclaimed Arcadia High School distance runner and grandson of the famous savings-and-loan financier with the same name, died in northern Iraq Tuesday after Islamic State militants penetrated Kurdish defensive lines and launched an attack with small arms and car bombs.

Bradley Boland, Keating's uncle, confirmed to The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com that his nephew had been killed.

Charlie Keating, known as C-4 because he had the same name as three generations before him, also is the cousin of Olympic swimming champion Gary Hall Jr.

Hall Jr. said he was not comfortable talking about his cousin's death.

"It's horrible and it breaks my heart," said Conley Wolfswinkel, a Valley developer and close friend of the Keating family. "My heart goes out to the family. No one deserves this."

Gov. Doug Ducey ordered the lowering of flags to honor the Navy SEAL.

“Our state and nation are in mourning today over the loss of a U.S. serviceman — and one of America’s finest," Ducey said in a statement. "Mr. Keating is the third American service member to be killed in direct combat in our nation’s fight against ISIS. His death is a tragic reminder of the daily sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform — fighting evil and extremism on the front lines to protect freedom and democracy at home and throughout the world."

Ducey directed all state flags to be lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset Wednesday, and flags will be lowered on the day of his interment.

ROBERTS: Charles Keating, another good soldier, gone

The 31-year-old Keating, a 2004 graduate of Arcadia High School, was city and region champion in the 1,600-meter run as a sophomore, junior and senior. He earned all-city and first-team all-state honors as a high-school senior, according to Indiana University, where he ran in college.

Keating was on track and cross-country teams at Indiana University for two years before enlisting in the military.

His former college coach, Robert Chapman, said the runner wanted to be a high achiever. It’s not always about being a Big Ten champion or All-American, Chapman said.

“You’re doing this to find out how good you could be,” said Chapman, now associate director for sports science at USA Track & Field. “Everyone ends up going about that in their own way. Charlie, in his own way, found out how good he could be.”

In high school, Keating spent three weeks in a steamy Costa Rican jungle, eating only beans and rice and paddling a canoe up to 40 miles a day as part of the Outward Bound cable TV series set in the Latin American country.

Keating, who ran more than 70 miles a week in high school, had to get permission from school officials to miss his classes and had to make up his homework before and after he went on the trip. For being on the show, Keating received $300.

Teens on the show weren't allowed to contact their families during the three-week trip, although they could receive letters.

"You just had to deal with it," Keating said in a 2002 interview. "It was really, really fun, but at times I said, 'Why am I here?' "

Keating's is the third American combat death in Iraq since the U.S. military deployed advisers and other personnel there in 2014 to support the war against ISIS. A U.S. Defense Department official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed that the service member killed was a SEAL.

Keating's grandfather, Charles H. Keating Jr., died at age 90 in 2014.

Keating Jr.'s real-estate developments, including the Phoenician Resort, are crown jewels of the Valley, and his well-publicized charitable works included befriending and offering financial help to Mother Teresa. Yet, Keating Jr. also will be remembered as a man whose financial empire cost many investors their life savings when it crumbled. His name also became part of the moniker for a group of senators who intervened on his behalf with regulators during the 1980s savings-and-loan scandal.

As a high-school senior, Charlie Keating said he was proud of his grandfather and enjoyed having the same name, even when other children made fun of him.

"I'm really close to him," the young Keating said at the time. "What happened in the past, I really don't care."

Keating family friend Alan Eads said Tuesday the family is reeling from the news.

“We’re all very sad he was killed, of course,” said Eads, a retired Scottsdale veterinarian.

Eads confirmed that both Charlie Keating and his brother, William, are U.S. Navy SEALS.

Another Keating cousin, 32-year-old Liz Keating of Cincinnati, said Charlie Keating had a "sense of duty to serve his country."

“He just had this sense of purpose for what he was doing. He loved what he was doing. He was a real-life superhero," Liz Keating said.

Charlie Keating attended Indiana University and went directly from there to training in Coronado, Calif., to become a Navy SEAL. The SEALs are an elite special-operations force. Fewer than 25 percent of those who begin the training successfully complete it, according to the Navy. He graduated from SEAL training in 2008.​

Childhood friends of Keating's said they, too, were shocked by his death.

Monique Cruise said they became friends at Ingleside Middle School. They had to be separated in class because they talked so much, she said.

She talked with him during their Arcadia High 10-year reunion in 2014 at a classmate’s former restaurant near 44th Street and Indian School Road, she said.

“I’m just really glad that my last memory with him was such a good one,” Cruise said. "He was doing extremely well and was so happy. He kept me laughing the whole time.”

Keating came alone to the reunion but had shared that he was engaged to Brooke Clark, whom he had met in California.

“Charlie died a hero,” Cruise said. “He was a phenomenal track runner. Just amazing. Everyone had their little cliques, but Charlie was friends with everybody. I don’t think I was ever upset with him.”

Sashah Askari said she ran track with Keating in high school and lived a few houses down from him in Paradise Valley for at least a decade.

When he was 11, she said, his mom would drive right behind him to give him light at he ran because there were no streetlights.

"Who does that? He was so dedicated to his sport,” said Askari, who now lives in Miami, Fla.

“Oh my God, he cracked everyone up. He was everyone’s friend,” she said.

On Tuesday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Islamic State terrorists overran Iraqi soldiers guarding a checkpoint, then attacked Kurdish Peshmerga fighters 2 miles away, where Keating was advising.

"He was not on the front lines, and it turns out that being two miles away from the battle between ISIL and Iraqi forces is a dangerous place to be," Earnest said, using an acronym for the Islamic State.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter described the fatality as a "combat death" that highlights the dangers American troops face in Iraq, even though they are not engaged in direct fighting with the Islamic State. The name of the service member was not released.

"It shows you it's a serious fight that we have to wage in Iraq," said Carter, who is in Germany to attend a ceremony at the headquarters of U.S. European Command.

The dead SEAL was part of a small team advising Peshmerga forces in northern Iraq. They had been checking on outposts when ISIS fighters mounted a complex attack, the official said. The SEALs were among the first advisers to help mentor counter-ISIS forces.

ISIS militants used car bombs and bulldozers to breach the front line. They raced ahead and attacked the command post where the SEAL was located.

There was no indication that ISIS fighters knew U.S. troops were at the facility at the time, officials said.

Republic reporter Yihyun Jeong, Indianapolis Star reporter David Woods and USA TODAY and Cincinnati.com contributed to this article.
From The Republic azcentral.com 11/29/02:

Phoenix-area teen Charles Keating IV's 'Outward Bound' trek debuts on Discovery Kids
Anne Ryman, The Republic | azcentral.com 4:48 p.m. MST May 3, 2016

Editor's note: This story originally published Nov. 29, 2002. Charles Keating IV was killed in Iraq on May 3, 2016. He is the grandson of Charles Keating Jr., the famous S&L financier. 

How many teens would find it fun to spend three weeks in a steamy hot Costa Rica jungle, eating only beans and rice and paddling a canoe up to 40 miles a day?

If you're 17-year-old Charlie Keating IV, you see it as an adventure.

The grandson of former financier Charles H Keating Jr. traveled to the country with seven other teens as part of the Outward Bound cable TV series set in the Latin American country. The first of 10 episodes begins Monday. The half-hour show airs at 8:30 and 11:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday on the Discovery Kids Channel on Cox Digital Cable or Channel 101 for those who do not have digital cable.

If you watch the show, you may not recognize Charlie immediately. The teen has grown from 5 feet 2 to 5 feet 11 since the filming in February 2001.

Charlie's mom, Krista Joseph of Paradise Valley, got the idea for the trip three years ago when she saw a newspaper advertisement for the show seeking "athletic kids."

Charlie had to get permission from school officials to miss his classes and had to make up his homework before and after he went on the trip

Charlie definitely fit the part. The Arcadia High School student is a top cross-country runner who logs more than 70 miles a week.

Outward Bound is part of the reality television trend popularized by the hit show Survivor. Cameras follow the kids around as they are thrown together and struggle to cope while trekking through the rain forest, rappelling down canyon walls and braving whitewater rapids.

"They followed us around with cameras and basically watched us fight," Charlie said.

Outward Bound differs from Survivor in that no one is voted off the island. No one wins a million-dollar prize for being the sole survivor, either.
Charlie got $300.

"The prize is these kids have an incredible experience," said Marjorie Kaplan, vice president and general manager for Discovery Kids. "It is a life-changing experience. This is an opportunity to go where they've never gone and challenge themselves in a way they never dreamed they would."

The series features three other boys and four girls. The teens were led through the Costa Rican rain forest by three guides and trailed by three camera operators, three sound techs, a producer, a director and a safety supervisor. It took about two days to get used to having cameras constantly following his every move, Charlie said.

The teens camped under simple tents made by stringing rope between trees and topping it with a plastic tarp. They also spent time in rural villages, helping the villagers with their chores. Charlie's job was clearing a banana field with a machete.

The teens weren't allowed to take any food along, but Charlie managed to sneak in a Power Bar, which he broke into chunks and shared with the others.

The food was simple. But everyone was so hungry, they had no complaints, he said.

"For breakfast we'd have rice, beans and eggs mixed together. For lunch, we'd have rice and beans again and for dinner, rice and beans," he said.

The best part of the three weeks was celebrating his 16th birthday in the rain forest.

"I was with a family who had 18 children, and one of them had a birthday the same day," he said. "I got a machete for my birthday."

The low points of the trip were paddling canoes down a river for 40 miles and finding their way out of a dank cave with huge spiders on the walls and bat droppings smeared over the floor.

The teens also weren't allowed to contact their families during the three-week trip, although they could receive letters.

"You just had to deal with it," Charlie said. "It was really, really fun, but at times I said, 'Why am I here?' "

Once he got back to the states, his mom met him at the airport, and they headed to the nearest McDonald's.

"I think I ate a couple of double burgers, supersized fries and drank a lot of Pepsi," he said.

Overall, the trip gave Charlie a glimpse into the differences between life in the United States and rural Latin American communities.

For instance, the emphasis on school and the importance of television in the United States had little relevance in the tiny villages they visited in Costa Rica. The houses had no electricity, and children were educated at home.

"It was a different experience," he said. "A lot different."
From The Republic azcentral.com 05/13/04:

Arcadia High School's Charles Keating IV is in for a big day
Richard Obert, azcentral sports 4:48 p.m. MST May 3, 2016

Editor's note: This story originally was published May 13, 2004. Charles Keating IV was killed in Iraq on May 3, 2016. He is the grandson of Charles Keating Jr., the famous S&L financier. 

He has a name that lives in infamy, but that never really mattered to Charles Keating IV, even when other children made fun of him as a kid.

The Arcadia High senior runner loves his grandfather, Charles Keating, the Phoenix tycoon who was sent to prison after his empire crumbled when little Charlie was a small child.

And he's proud of the name.

With his grandfather in attendance today at Mesa Community College, he said he'll be inspired to run the 800 and 1,600 meters at the Class 4A track and field championships. The meet finishes Saturday.

"I'm really close to him," the young Keating said of his grandfather. "What happened in the past, I really don't care.

"He's not seen me run yet, so this will be great."

The elder Keating cheers for an athletic family, half of which found fame in the water.

Gary Hall Jr., Charlie's cousin, is an Olympic gold medalist swimmer.

Charlie Keating has the blond hair, but is not quite the free spirit as his famous cousin.

And he never gravitated toward the pool.

"I think he got in the pool the first time and sank," said Krista Joseph, Charlie's mother.

Keating works hard at running, putting in countless miles. It's paid off in the form of a cross country and track scholarship to Indiana.

Keating is among the state's best in the 800 (1 minute, 56.1 seconds) and 1,600 (4:20). His best shot at a gold medal might come in anchoring Arcadia's 4x800 relay team.

He and his sister, Adele, a sophomore at Xavier who is running in this week's 5A meet, took more after their mother, who, as Krista Holmes, was a state champion miler at Scottsdale Chaparral High her junior year in 1977. She went on to run at Arizona and later formed the Arizona Elite Track Club, which she still runs.

She knew Charlie would be a runner when he was 7 and wanted to tag along with Krista during a 5K race.

"He never wanted to walk," she said. "He loved it. He kept bugging me after that. He liked the attention."

Keating still likes seeing himself on the Discovery Kids Channel. As a freshman, he was part of the Outward Bound TV series that showed different parts of the world.

"He was the cut-up," Krista said.

Keating cuts up with his teammates. But he's serious once the race starts.

Keating says his best event is the 1,600, which he ran in a personal-best 4:18 as a junior at the Chandler Rotary Invitational.

He believes he can go faster today. About 30 minutes later, he'll have to be ready for the 800.

"I feel confident," Keating said. "It's going to be tough. I think I can pull off a good 800 after the mile. I've been good lately at recovering faster. I just have to keep myself hydrated."
From The Cable News Network cnn.com 05/04/16:

Navy SEAL Charles Keating IV killed in Iraq after ISIS breaks through Peshmerga lines
By Barbara Starr, Jeremy Diamond and Emanuella Grinberg, CNN
Updated 3:14 AM ET, Wed May 4, 2016

(CNN)Navy SEAL Charles Keating IV, the grandson of savings-and-loan financier Charles Keating Jr.,died in combat against ISIS in northern Iraq, his family said Tuesday.

"He is our family hero in every sense of the word," cousin Elizabeth Ann Keating told CNN.
Keating, 31, is the third American combat casualty since the U.S. redeployed forces to Iraq in the summer of 2014 to advise local forces and conduct special operations against ISIS. He was an adviser to Kurdish Peshmerga forces fighting ISIS, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement Tuesday.
He died as a result of a "coordinated and complex attack" by roughly 100 ISIS fighters nearly 30 km (18.6 miles) north of Mosul, Pentagon officials confirmed Tuesday.
"This sad news is a reminder of the dangers our men and women in uniform face every day in the ongoing fight to destroy ISIL and end the threat the group poses to the United States and the rest of the world. Our coalition will honor this sacrifice by dealing ISIL a lasting defeat," Cook said, using another term for ISIS.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter confirmed the reports while speaking to reporters in Germany, adding that the death shows "it's a serious fight that we have to wage in Iraq."
Keating came from a long line of devoted service members, going back to his namesake, great-grandfather Charles Keating, who served in World War I, and grandfather, Charles Keating Jr., a Naval pilot in World War II.
Charles Jr. rose to prominence in the mid-20th century as a lawyer and businessman who made millions in Phoenix real estate before he was implicated in the $150 billion savings-and-loan crisis that fleeced thousands of depositors with the help of U.S. senators. He always insisted he'd done nothing wrong and served time for fraud, racketeering and conspiracy. The verdicts were later overturned and he pleaded guilty lesser charges. He died in 2014 at age 90.
U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who was implicated in the scandal as a member of the Keating Five but later cleared of wrongdoing, and daughter Meghan McCain sent their condolences to the family.
"I send my deepest prayers and condolences to the family and loved ones of Charlie Keating who was tragically killed in action fighting ISIL in Iraq. Like so many brave Americans who came before him, Charlie sacrificed his life in honorable service to our nation for a cause greater than self-interest, which we can never truly repay," McCain said in a statement.

Keating was mourned in his home state of Arizona and beyond as a star athlete whose transition to military service came as little surprise to those who knew him. Gov. Doug Ducey ordered flags in the state to be lowered to half-staff on Wednesday in his honor.
A 2004 graduate of Arcadia High School in Phoenix, he was city and region champion in the 1,600-meter run as a sophomore, junior and senior, according to azcentral.com. At Indiana University, he was a member of the 2004-05 track team that finished as a Big Ten runner-up in both the indoor and outdoor seasons, competing in the mile run, the school said in a statement.
His high school track and cross country coach, Robert Wayne Reniewicki, said Keating made the decision to serve his country after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"It didn't surprise me when he said (he) wanted to be a Navy SEAL," Reniewicki told CNN.
He said the attacks happened while Keating and his teammates were on a run during his sophomore year and made an impact.
"A lot of guys said they wanted to go in service to serve their country that day," he said.
"When Charlie left IU to enlist and try to become a SEAL, I don't think it really surprised any of us," Robert Chapman, professor of kinesiology at IU Bloomington and men's cross country coach from 1998 to 2007, said in a statement.
"You could tell he was a guy who wanted to be the best and find out what he was made of, and serving as special operations forces for his country embodied that."
Keating's father, IU alumnus Charles H. Keating III, was a three-time All-American for the Hoosiers in the breaststroke and a four-time Big Ten Champion. Keating III finished fifth in the breaststroke at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, the school said.
"Charlie Keating was a valuable member of the Indiana Athletics community. His father was a decorated All-American and Olympian for the Hoosiers, and their family gave me one of my first coaching jobs in Phoenix," Indiana head swimming and diving coach Ray Looze said. "On behalf of the IU Swimming community, we express our deepest condolences."
ISIS used multiple vehicles, suicide car bombs and bulldozers to break through a checkpoint at the front line and drive 3 to 5 km (1.9 to 3.1 miles) to the Peshmerga base where SEALs are temporarily visiting and were located as advisers, a U.S. defense official told CNN. The gun battle was around the town of Telskof in northern Iraq, the official added.
The U.S. responded with F-15s and drones that dropped more than 20 bombs, according to a U.S. official.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said President Barack Obama was briefed on the death.
"Everyone extends condolences to the family of the service member that was killed today in northern Iraq," Earnest said at his daily briefing with reporters, adding that it's a reminder of the risks Americans continue to face even in advisory roles there.
Marine Staff Sgt. Louis F. Cardin was killed in March in a rocket attack on a U.S. base in northern Iraq. And an October 2015 rescue mission in northern Iraq claimed the first American casualty, U.S. Army Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler.
CNN's Jamie Crawford, Emanuella Grinberg, Kevin Liptak and Sheena Jones contributed to this report.
From Indiana University
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of former student-athlete Charles Keating, a U.S. Navy SEAL who was killed Tuesday morning on a mission in Iraq. Keating, who came to IU from Paradise Valley, Ariz., was a student and a track and field and cross country runner at IU from 2004 to 2006. He was a member of the 2004-05 track team that finished as a Big Ten runner-up in both the indoor and outdoor seasons. Keating competed in the mile run. "When Charlie left IU to enlist and try to become a SEAL, I don't think it really surprised any of us," said Robert Chapman, professor of kinesiology at IU Bloomington, who served as IU's men's cross country coach from 1998 until 2007. "You could tell he was a guy who wanted to be the best and find out what he was made of, and serving as special operations forces for his country embodied that." Head track and field coach Ron Helmer issued the following statement on Keating. "From all accounts, Charles Keating was a great kid and a privilege to coach. On behalf of Indiana Track and Field, my condolences go out to the entire Keating family. He paid the ultimate sacrifice defending his country, and for that we are eternally grateful." Keating is the son of former swimming great and IU alumnus Charles H. Keating III ('74-'77), who was a three-time All-American for the Hoosiers in the breaststroke and a four-time Big Ten Champion. Keating III finished fifth in the breaststroke at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. Indiana head swimming and diving coach Ray Looze remembers the Keating family and offered his condolences. "Charlie Keating was a valuable member of the Indiana Athletics community. His father was a decorated All-American and Olympian for the Hoosiers, and their family gave me one of my first coaching jobs in Phoenix. On behalf of the IU Swimming community, we express our deepest condolences." The entire IU community extends its heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the family, friends and loved ones of this heroic fallen Hoosier and brave American.

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