SSG Kyle Robert McKee was a young 35 when his life ended abruptly on the desert sand of Egypt: but the people who knew him, loved him, we know he truly lived a good, full, honorable life. He touched so many lives, made so many friends everywhere he went, and made a difference in others’ lives. This is his story.

Kyle Robert McKee. Born on Valentine’s Day 1985. His name in Gaelic translates to “handsome from the strait”. He was handsome; intense blue eyes, and perfect hair. The eyes were genetic, the hair was choice and obsession, but both were his signature. He was very intelligent. He could read something that interested him one time, and quote what he read ad verbatim months late. He was artistic which should have meant that he was flexible, but he often saw things as black and white, or right and wrong, with little room for diversion. And with all these traits that should have meant he was a very, very serious, stalwart person, he was, in fact, a major goof ball.

As a child, Kyle had an affinity for all things Army. Year after year, he trick or treated in camouflage. No vampire or hobo or clown costumes for him; always the “army guy”. So, it was no surprise that he ended up in the Army. Kyle couldn’t wait to get started, and went in at 17, early entry. When classmates went to band camp, football camp or 4-H camp, he went to Boot Camp…and thrived. He graduated Basic Training as Soldier Leader of the Cycle at 17. After that, his future was cast in stone.

As a teenager, Kyle had varied interests. Guitar, art, languages, sports. He played baseball, and football, and wrestled. When an opportunity surfaced for him to try something new, he generally leapt at it. His favorite subject and passion was history, especially the armaments used in battles by the different countries in WWII. He read on the topic prolifically, and became a “student teacher” because his knowledge base went beyond what the text books contained.

Kyle was a natural at aircraft maintenance, a thorough and proficient Blackhawk crew chief. He attended and graduate Air Assault, and later SEAR School. He never turned down training, and made it a point to express his interest in honing his skills. He knew the Army regulations down to the paragraph, and he made sure if he was held to a standard that others were too.

People think that a person who has been to war has to be somewhat head-hearted. In fact, Kyle was a tender-hearted person. He did not hunt. He maintained that if he had to in order to feed his family or survive, he was very capable of killing an animal. But he preferred to Live and let live.

Kyle had deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Korea. He was stationed in Clarksville, TN, Alaska, Washington state, and CA (for Arabic school), before moving to Ft. Bragg, NC. He was supposed to move his family to Fort Eustiss, VA upon his return from Egypt where he was going to finish his career as an instructor. On 11/12/2020, Kyle died in a Blackhawk helicopter crash in Egypt during a routine MFO mission, along with 4 other U.S. service men and 2. multinationals. He left his wife, 2 sons, and a daughter he never met, born 12 days after his death, his parents, brother, sister, and so many friends. Forever in Flight. Until Valhalla.