Local man killed in training at Ft Campbell.

[centermass181]

Military identifies Mass. soldier killed during training
April 19, 2007

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. --Military officials identified a Fort Campbell soldier who was killed in a training accident Wednesday night as a Masschusetts man.

Pfc. Kevin J. King, 19, from Plymouth, Mass., died at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital on the post after he was accidentally shot during live-fire training, Kelly Tyler, a spokeswoman at the post, said in a statement.

King was an infantryman assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.

Immediate first-aid treatment was given at the site and a medical evacuation helicopter transported King to the post's hospital.

King joined the Army in July 2006. He arrived at Fort Campbell in November 2006.

He is survived by his father James P. King of Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, and his mother, Teri King of Plymouth, Mass.

 

[MrsWildweasel]

RIP. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.

 

[JonJ]

May God bless him and all those around him.

 

[M1911]

Fair winds and following seas.

 

[FiveseveN]

First off, my condoleneces to his family.

Second, it seems like a vague description of what happened to him. Was he crawling under a barbed wire fence with a machine gun firing overhead? Did he stand during this excercise?

Are there other live fire excercises during basic?

I just dislike the DOD description because it leaves out the circumstances, and thus, the accountability.

Was his death the result of his own personal error, or does the blame fall upon another?

Personally, unless a weapon he was training with malfunctioned, or he stood while crawling under live machine gun fire (which I find totally absurd) or someone else is at fault, either that or there is some component of live fire training with whihc I am not familiar.

 

[MrsWildweasel]

First off, my condoleneces to his family.

Second, it seems like a vague description of what happened to him. Was he crawling under a barbed wire fence with a machine gun firing overhead? Did he stand during this excercise?

Are there other live fire excercises during basic?

I just dislike the DOD description because it leaves out the circumstances, and thus, the accountability.

Was his death the result of his own personal error, or does the blame fall upon another?

Personally, unless a weapon he was training with malfunctioned, or he stood while crawling under live machine gun fire (which I find totally absurd) or someone else is at fault, either that or there is some component of live fire training with whihc I am not familiar.

Not that this will help you out in what you are wondering, but when I went through basic training in the early 80's, the company next to us had lost a trainee to one of the live fire exercises. We got to see the flag draped coffin in front of their company and our DI's used it as a what not to do with us.
Until all the investigation is done we may or may not know, depending on what the family wants given out.

 

[centermass181]

ft cambpell doesnt do basic training.....and the live fire stuff the 101st does is a far cry from the old barbed wire crawl of the past.

 

[redmm]

HI I'm a personal friend of the King family. Isaw this post while searching for some more articles.
Pfc King was killed in a night time room sweeping live fire exrcise. The person who shot him was a 2 time persian Gulf Vet, and close freind of Kevin. The parents don't blame anyone, they know it was just a horrible accident here are more articles.
Thanks for all the prayers and condolences. I will pass them on.
REdmm (AKA JOE)

Dorchester native killed in training exercise
St. Mark's native and Army Private 1st Class Kevin J. King was killed early Wednesday morning during a training exercise at Fort Campbell in Kentucky.
According to information released by the Army, King was hit by small-arms fire during overnight training on a firing range at the army base. King's unit was conducting a room-clearing exercise with live ammunition when he was struck. He was wearing a protective Kevlar vest at the time of the accident.
After the accident he was flown by helicopter to the Blanchfield Army Community Hospital, where he died of his wounds around 4 a.m.
King, 19, was a member of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
King was born in Dorchester's St. Marks neighborhood and later moved with his siblings and mother, Teri King, to Plymouth. His father, James P. King, lives in Popes Hill, where he is the vice president of the Popes Hill Neighborhood Association.
Phil Carver, president of the association and a longtime friend of the King family, said learning yesterday of King's death was a tragic blow.
"It's hard to wrap your mind around," said Carver. "My brother was in Iraq, and in that situation you hope for the best but prepare for the worst. To have something like this happen is just tragic."
King joined the Army in July, 2006 and was scheduled to be deployed to Iraq later this summer. He has a twin brother, Michael, who plans to enter the Navy, as well as an older sister and younger brother."
He was the nicest kid, a quiet, funny, nice guy. This is what he wanted to do, he wanted to serve his country," said Carver.

 

[Admin]

Thank you for the straght info Joe.

 

[MrsWildweasel]

Thanks for letting us know.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Thanks for the info and please accept my condolences and thoughts to his Family, Friends and fellow Soldiers!

 

[Lynne]

Thank you for posting that Joe. You have my sympathies and please pass them on to his family as well. I also feel horrible for the Vet who shot him. That's gonna be with him the rest of his life, poor man.

 

[Twigg]

Thank you for your service Pfc. King.

 

[TimJ]

My old company. No Slack! Pvt King. Rest easy....

the motto of the 327th Infantry is "Honor and Country", certainly fitting for a fallen warrior.

2nd Bn's motto is No Slack.

In WWII the 327th was a Glider Infantry Regiment in the 101st and played a pivotal part in the defense of Bastogne.