In this Nov. 6, 2002, photo, Charlie Keating IV, 16, poses for a photo in Phoenix for an upcoming series on the Discovery channel that he took part in. The Navy SEAL was a former Phoenix high school star distance runner and the grandson of the late Arizona financier involved in the 1980s savings and loan scandal.

In this Nov. 6, 2002, photo, Charlie Keating IV, 16, poses for a photo in Phoenix for an upcoming series on the Discovery channel that he took part in. The Navy SEAL was a former Phoenix high school star distance runner and the grandson of the late Arizona financier involved in the 1980s savings and loan scandal.

Navy SEAL killed in Iraq was part of rescue team

PHOENIX, Ariz. — Charlie Keating IV, who died in a gunfight with militants in Iraq, was known in Phoenix for his family name but forged his own path as a high school and college track star and then as a Navy SEAL.

He was shot and killed Tuesday during a gunbattle that involved more than 100 Islamic State fighters, Army Col. Steve Warren said. The Navy Petty Officer 1st Class was part of a quick reaction force that moved in to help American military advisers who came under attack.

“He was our golden boy and he had a million-dollar smile. And he had the best luck in the world, and he always made it through, so that’s why this is so shocking,” his mother, Krista Joseph, said during a telephone interview Wednesday.

Keating, a grandson of an Arizona financier involved in the 1980s savings and loan scandal, was the third American serviceman to die in combat in Iraq since the U.S.-led coalition launched its campaign against the Islamic State group in summer 2014, military officials said.

Joseph said her son had wanted to be a Navy SEAL from a young age and even put a SEAL poster on his bedroom wall at age 8 or 9. He would only enlist in the Navy if he was allowed to take basic underwater training, which is the first hurdle to eventually becoming a SEAL, she said.

“He would not join until they gave him a shot,” Joseph said.

Keating’s grandfather, Charles H. Keating Jr., who died in 2014 at age 90, served prison time for his role in the costliest savings and loan failure of the 1980s.

The scandal also shook the political world. Five senators who received campaign donations from the elder Keating were accused of impropriety for appealing to regulators on his behalf in 1987.

The grandfather went to prison when Charlie was young, and other children reportedly made fun of him.

“What happened in the past, I really don’t care. I’m really close to him,” the younger Keating told The Arizona Republic in 2004 when he ran in the Class 4A state track and field championships in suburban Phoenix.

That’s where his grandfather watched him compete for the first time.

A 2004 graduate of Phoenix’s Arcadia High School, Charlie Keating was city and regional champion in the 1,600-meter run as a sophomore, junior and senior.

Rob Reniewicki, Keating’s former high school track coach, said he had kept in touch with Keating through Facebook and that Keating was planning to get married in November.

“He was a tremendous athlete, a tremendous person. I’m devastated,” Reniewicki told Phoenix TV station KTVK.

Keating ran track and cross country from 2004-06 at Indiana University, where his father was a three-time All-America swimmer from 1974-77 and finished fifth in the breaststroke at the 1976 Olympics.

Keating was a member of the 2004-05 Hoosiers team that was Big Ten Conference runner-up in both the indoor and outdoor seasons. He 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 Indiana men’s cross country coach from 1998 to 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,” Chapman said.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey ordered all state flags lowered to half-staff Wednesday in honor of Keating.

“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,” U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said in a statement.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.