Army Staff Sergeant Kyu Chay

Army Staff Sergeant Kyu Hyuk Chay, 34, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was an Arabic cryptologic linguist and Special Operations Team-Alpha assistant team leader assigned to Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He died on October 28, 2006, in Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan, from injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during a combat patrol.

Born in South Korea, his family immigrated to New York when he was seven. He graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the State University of New York at Albany. While attending Brooklyn Law School, SSG Chay enlisted in the Army in 2001, motivated by gratitude for the opportunities his family had received in America.

SSG Chay was remembered as a determined student, accomplished linguist and devoted husband and father who embodied the qualities of “hard work, determination, and dedication to excellence.”

SSG Chay was survived by his wife, son and daughter.