Charles Keating IV | |
|---|---|
 Keating when he was a Special Warfare Operator, 1st Class | |
| Nickname(s) |
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| Born | February 26, 1985 Phoenix, Arizona |
| Died | May 3, 2016 (aged 31) Tesqopa, Iraq |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 2007–2016 |
| Rank | Chief Petty Officer (Rating: Special Warfare Operator) |
| Unit | |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | |
| Spouse(s) | Brooke Clark |
| Relations |
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| Website | c4foundation |
Charles Humphrey Keating IV (February 26, 1985 – May 3, 2016) was a United States Navy SEAL sniper who was killed in action against ISIS forces north of Mosul, Iraq, in 2016. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, which was later upgraded to the Navy Cross.[1] Keating was the third U.S. military servicemember to be killed in action in Iraq during Operation Inherent Resolve.
Keating—whose father and grandfather were convicted for their actions in the savings and loan crisis in the late 1980s—competed in track and field during high school and college but left a promising career to become a Navy SEAL; he was one of the best runners in his BUD/S class. He later trained to be a sniper and deployed three times to Iraq and once to Afghanistan.
Keating was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with "V" device for saving an Arabic interpreter in combat and the U.S. military's second-highest award for combat valor, the Navy Cross, for his actions in combat against more than 100 ISIS fighters; he exposed himself to enemy fire multiple times and led partner forces to repel an attack. He continued to train partner forces in the region until he was killed in combat during a separate engagement two months later. After his death, his family helped start the C4 Foundation, which helps Navy SEALs and their families recover from stress.
- ^ "Navy Cross Recipients, Global War on Terrorism, 2001-present" (PDF). U.S. Military Awards for Valor, Department of Defense. April 26, 2022. Retrieved October 10, 2023.