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First Name: Kyran

Last Name: Kennedy

Birthplace: West Roxbury, MA, USA

Gender: Male

Branch: Army (1784 - present)



Middle Name: E.



Date of Birth: 30 October 1960

Date of Death: 07 November 2003

Rank: Chief Warrant Officer 3

Years Served:
Kyran E. Kennedy

   
Engagements:
•  Iraq War (Operation Iraqi Freedom) (2003 - 2011)

Biography:

Kyran E. Kennedy
Chief Warrant Officer 3, U.S. Army

Operation Iraqi Freedom

Kyran E. Kennedy was born on 30 October 1960, in West Roxbury, MA, one of the ten children of J. Kevin and Geraldine Martin Kennedy. He attended Xaverian High School where he was a rebellious teen who sneaked cigarettes in the bathroom and skipped music lessons. After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Massachusetts at Boston.

Kyran joined the U.S. Army in 1991. He was a 6-foot, 200-pound Army helicopter pilot, who loved woodworking and had made a dulcimer that he took to Iraq with him. The instrument was important to him and provided a sense of peace in the midst of war. Before leaving for Iraq, the family had purchased a farm in Kentucky where they kept a variety of animals, raised a garden and an orchard, and managed an ambitious beekeeping operation. Nothing pleased Kyran more than pulling weeds from the garden. He was an outdoorsman, bow hunter, talented musician, carpenter, scuba diver and beekeeper. He also earned a Master's degree in Aviation.

On 7 November 2003, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Kennedy was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, KY, which had been deployed to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom. On that day, Kennedy was killed in action when the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter he was in suffered a direct hit by an SA-16 missile in Tikrit, fired from about 2 kilometers away. The missile struck the helicopter's left fuel cell and the resulting explosion was catastrophic.

Badge, Medals and Awards

Army Aviator Badge
Bronze Star Medal
Purple Heart

Burial

The display at the front of the Saint Theresa of Avila Church in West Roxbury for Kyran's funeral on 22 November 2003, was simple and somber: a folded US flag, a wooden urn containing Kennedy's ashes, his military photo, and a copy of The Soldier's Prayer.

Following the funeral service, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Kyran E. Kennedy's ashes were inurned at Milton Cemetery in Milton, Norfolk County, MA.

Kyran was survived by his wife, Kathleen ("Kathy'), and their three children: Christopher, 11; Katie, 9; and Kevin, 3.



Honoree ID: 865   Created by: MHOH

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