Irishman killed fighting in Ukraine a former US marine who fought in Iraq

Graham Dale was killed last Friday and his remains are in the process of being repatriated back to Ireland.

The Irishman killed while fighting in Ukraine was a former US marine who had previously fought in Iraq.

Graham Dale, who emigrated to the US in 2000, had flown to Ukraine shortly after Russia invaded in February 2022 to "offer his assistance”.

The 45-year-old joined the Ukrainian Army to help the country's efforts against the Russian offensive.

Mr Dale, who previously enlisted in the US Marines after 9/11, was killed last Friday and his remains are in the process of being repatriated back to Ireland.

A friend said in a social media post: “It is with a heavy heart that I share the passing of my dear friend, Graham Dale.

“If you knew Graham, you might already be aware that when the conflict in Ukraine began, he flew over to offer his assistance.

“Currently, I lack further details, but he left this earth exactly the way he wanted to."

The friend added: “He was sweet, kind, had a rough exterior, funny, hard to love at times, loyal, stubborn, curious, strong-willed, gentleman, explorer.

He was the one that couldn't ask for help for himself, so he searched for ways to aid others.

When he was 20, Mr Dale secured a green card and moved to Austin, Texas, in 2000, where he worked as a software consultant with IBM and served as a volunteer fireman with the Texas Fire Department.

He would later say in interviews in 2008 to promote his book The Green Marine, that 9/11 was “the catalyst” behind his decision to join the Marines.

He said: "I'm a very reactive person. I take things personally.

“Even when I was a child, if one kid was hitting another kid I felt a moral duty to say 'stop that'.

“I really never subscribed to the idea that it's someone else's job to look after things."

While serving his one tour of duty in Iraq, in January 2005, he suffered post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after one of his friends was killed when his platoon was hit by a suicide bomber.

He later recalled: "When my friend got killed that was the hardest."

When he left the Marines after six years, he bought a house in the US and lived in “one of those anonymous suburbs with a white picket fence and a porch”.

Mr Dale is one of a number of Irishmen to die fighting in Ukraine.

They include Mayo man Finbar Cafferkey, from Achill Island, who died in April this year.