Originally Posted by Kansas
Sir,
A good friend of mine and Lt. Vincent Joyce Dc (Molonlobedoc) Lt. Mike McGahan, died on Sunday in Afganistan after a drone went down, he was sent to retrieve it and was ambushed.
He was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division as part of a special troops battalion. His dream was to become Special Forces.
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http://www.gainesville.com/article/2...p=all&tc=pgall
UF grad killed in ambush in Afghanistan Sunday
Courtesy of the McGahan Family Buy photo
Mike McGahan, a University of Florida graduate killed Sunday in Afghanistan, is shown in this recent Facebook photo with his wife, Miranda.
By Nathan Crabbe
Staff writer
Published: Monday, June 7, 2010 at 6:04 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, June 7, 2010 at 7:47 p.m.
( page all of 2 )
A University of Florida graduate, inspired to join the U.S. Army by his grandfather's service during World War II in a highly decorated regiment of Japanese Americans, was killed Sunday during combat in Afghanistan, according to his father.
Second Lt. Mike McGahan, 23, was the leader of a platoon that had responded to a report of an unmanned aircraft being downed near the Pakistan border, according to his father, Tim McGahan of Orlando. He said the unit was ambushed by insurgents and his son was killed in the ensuing firefight.
Mike McGahan graduated from UF in 2008, majoring in political science and minoring in history. He married his high school sweetheart and a fellow UF graduate, Miranda, in November and had only been in Afghanistan since April, according to his father.
"He was just a very well rounded guy," Tim McGahan said. "He loved to travel and loved meeting people from around the world. He wanted to make a difference."
He said his son took Arabic language courses at UF and was interested in Middle Eastern affairs. He also took part in a study-abroad trip to Cambridge with the UF history department that enabled him to travel throughout Europe.
"He joined the Army out of a really profound sense of patriotism that we don't often see from students that age," said UF history professor John Sensbach, who led the study-abroad trip.
Both of McGahan's grandfathers served in the Army during World War II. One served in the 442nd Infantry Regiment, a unit mainly comprised of Japanese Americans whose families faced internment during World War II. They fought in Europe and became the most highly decorated regiment in the history of the U.S. military.
Sensbach said McGahan saw joining the Army in the wake of 9/11 as following in the same tradition.
"He took it very seriously that that was what you do if you love your country," he said.
Tim McGahan said his son, after graduating, completed officer candidate school in Fort Benning, Ga. He was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division as part of a special troops battalion.
He said that his son had seen college friends join service programs such as Teach for America after graduating and viewed military service as his own way to give back.
"He loved UF, he loved his friends, he loved his country and he just wanted to serve others," he said.
Mike McGahan will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Details of a memorial service are still being arranged.
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