Co Down soldier killed in Afghanistan
A soldier from 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment who was killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan has been named by the UK's Ministry of Defence as Lance Corporal Stephen McKee.
L/Cpl McKee, from County Down, Northern Ireland, was in the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand Province when his vehicle hit an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) on Wednesday.
The Lance Corporal had strong family connections with the regiment, with two brothers, a cousin and his father-in-law all serving in the First Battalion, and with another brother serving in the Second Battalion.
His uncle, Richard, a member of the Ulster Defence Regiment, was murdered by the IRA during the Troubles.
Ulster Unionist representative Danny Kennedy said: "I have known Stephen's father and the McKee family for many years and I would like to confer my profound sympathy to them on the loss of their son.
“The McKee family has a proud history of service to this country and this tragedy, resulting from a cowardly attack by the Taliban, sadly mirrors the same fate which befell Stephen’s uncle Richard, a member of the UDR (Ulster Defence Regiment), who was murdered by the IRA during the Troubles.
“The sacrifice of the McKee family should not and must not be forgotten.”
Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson said: “This tragic news of another brave soldier losing his life in Afghanistan reminds us of the supreme sacrifice our Armed Forces all too regularly pay in the service of their country. I am deeply saddened to hear of this news and send my sincere sympathy to his family.”
Ulster Unionist Leader Tom Elliott expressed his deepest condolences to the soldier’s bereaved family.
He said: “Ranger McKee’s death is a tragedy which will be felt far beyond his family circle and home town of Banbridge.
“The Royal Irish is itself a family and it is one which is held in the highest esteem by tens of thousands of people in Northern Ireland.
“The loss of one of our soldiers has a great impact and I hope and pray that the thoughts and best wishes will be of some comfort to the McKee family at this awful time and in the days ahead.”
L/Cpl McKee, aged 27, was described as a ``doting husband and family man'' who had showed ``enormous strength'' after his two-day-old daughter passed away last year.
He leaves behind his wife Carley, his parents Heather and Bobby, his brothers Michael, Gareth and Robert, and his sisters Kelly and Rebecca.
Paying tribute to her husband, Carley McKee said: “You will always be my hero and every step I take in life, I will have my two angels looking after me.
“You truly are the best husband, father, son and brother anyone could ask for. Till we meet again. Love you always.”
The soldier, from Banbridge in County Down, joined the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment, as a part-time soldier in 2003, the MoD said.
He transferred to the 1st Battalion, based in Tern Hill, Shropshire, in 2007 where he was posted to B Company, before moving to the Machine Gun Platoon in D Company early last year.
Lieutenant Colonel Colin Weir MBE, Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment, said L/Cpl McKee’s death had “sent a wave of shock and sadness” through the battlegroup.
He added: “Everyone knows the McKees. Everyone respects the McKees. The McKees are in the First Battalion and the McKees are in the Second Battalion. It is families like the McKees that make this Regiment what it is; they are the fibre that runs through us and what gives us our fighting spirit. It is because of families like the McKees that we are the winners in this fight.”
Lt Col Weir also described the 27-year-old as “the finest of men.
“He was irrepressible, he was utterly reliable and he was a fearsome warrior,” he said.
“Not only was he the finest of Irish soldiers, he was a man with great depths of resilience.”
L/Cpl McKee was deployed to Afghanistan at the end of January this year and employed as a patrol second-in-command. On the day of his death he was taking part in a cordon and search of a small village.
Major Gregory Murphy, commanding officer of D company, described the Lance Corporal as a “totemic man of the regiment” and said his death was “a profound loss”.
“Rarely would you find someone as conscientious, generous, hard working and as professional as Stephen,” he said.
“Regardless of his own discomfort or the adverse conditions crippling those around him, there would be Stephen with that bloody grin of his.
“He was a popular and endeared leader within the Company and whilst he was easy to like, he was a man that was even easier to respect.
“Regardless of his own discomfort or the adverse conditions crippling those around him, there would be Stephen with that bloody grin of his.”
