In Memory of SPC Kasey Beatty, US Army
June 14, 1987 – April 13, 2014
Kasey loved to laugh. He would tease and play with his siblings and Mother, chasing us around
the house or playing games with the family, which he grew up doing. He loved animals and, for
some reason, any animal or bird was attracted to him as well. He also loved good food, especially
his Mom’s homemade meals. He had his Mom teach him how to make fudge, and he made it often
for friends, “just because”.
Kasey was a gentle, loving, generous, giving and thoughtful person. Throughout his whole life he
thought of others before himself. Always. He was also very protective of others, especially his loved ones.
He was taught compassion and to give what he could to others, but didn’t learn the concept of “not
to one’s detriment” and, much too often, gave more than he should give.
Kasey grew up wanting to be in the Army because of a set of Army men his Mom gave him as a
gift when he was a very young child. He loved playing with that Army set with his older brother and
two Uncles.
He was a sensitive and caring person who felt the pain, love, hatred, joy, traumas, happiness, and
the whole array of feelings of those around him. We (he and his Mom) would talk about this many
times, as I understand it well and knew how it affected him.
While he was in Boot Camp, he felt terribly heartbroken about the fact that he had to put on 15
pounds and had to eat extra food, but the guy sitting next to him had to lose weight and couldn’t
eat much. Kasey wanted so desperately to give half of his food to this soldier next to him and it
was very hard for my son not to. He truly had a heart of gold.
Kasey served in multiple positions while in Iraq, but one of his favorite assignments was driving
the large, loaded Humvee. The few times he was able to call home, he would talk excitedly about
this vehicle and being qualified to fix it, or feeling its power while rolling across the desert leading
a convoy.
Kasey saw too much and had many devastating, traumatic experiences while serving his 15
month tour in the “designated imminent danger” area of Iraq, and therefore came home with a
tortured, haunted soul. His eyes were fighting to show light as he tried to smile; however, he really
attempted to enjoy life. He still found moments of happiness, but as he lived with me, I knew how
he couldn’t sleep at night, how every sudden sound jolted him, how he’d shut himself into his room
every year from mid-November through the end of the year with very little interaction with the
outside world.
After being discharged, he went to college and got his degree to become an LMT which was his
other goal in life, and was excellent in his profession, but that didn’t help ease his PTS.
He refused to talk to anyone, even me, because he told me that as he was being honorably
discharged from the Army he was told to “be a man and deal with his own stuff.” He was trying so
hard to “be that man;” “that soldier.”
When Kasey left for Boot Camp, his Mom and two younger sisters lived in CA, and when he
returned home, we had moved to UT where his older brother had moved. After a few years,
Kasey decided to move back to CA to see if that would help.
It didn’t. In fact, it was worse for him.
In the end, he sounded very calm and peaceful as he said all of his good-byes to his loved ones,
saying he was going to live on the beach and wouldn’t be in touch for a long time, much to his
Mothers dismay.
The next morning, he was gone. My Kasey – Forever 26.
States he called home: Utah and California
Final Resting Place: Camp Williams Veterans Cemetery and Memorial Park, 17111 1700 W, Bluffdale, UT 84065
#22TooMany #OurHeroes are #NeverForgotten
