Former IU student and athlete Charles Keating IV, known to friends as Charlie, always wanted to be a Navy SEAL, former teammate Sean Jefferson said.
His bedroom in his parents’ home contained books about the SEALs, Sean said, and it was something Charlie grew up dreaming about.
But Charlie, a former IU runner who was killed Tuesday morning on a mission in Iraq as a United States’ Navy SEAL, was not a stereotypical soldier, Sean said.
Charlie enjoyed fantasy series, like Lord of the Rings, and went to the late-night premieres of the Harry Potter films.
He often wore a backward ball cap, a T-shirt and jeans, another teammate Stephen Haas said, and in his track photo for IU, his wavy hair reaches the top of his back.
Throughout their time together though, Sean said Charlie did show expected traits of a soldier. He was fearless, adventurous and worked well with their team.
Charlie and the team would sometimes swim in a quarry near Bloomington. Charlie was the first to jump into the water from the highest point, Sean said, and he would laugh and smile the whole way down.
Charlie also liked to surf with Sean and his brother, John Jefferson, another former teammate, even though Charlie had little experience coming from Paradise Valley, Arizona.
He never shied from the biggest waves, Sean said, and laughed whenever he got wiped out.
John and Haas both also described Charlie as magnetic.
Once at the end of the winter semester, John said Charlie convinced him and a few other people to hike into the woods near Bloomington to find a cave.
The group walked about an hour into the forest through 10 inches of snow that day, and Charlie carried his Blue Heeler puppy, Bandit, in his coat. They pitched tents and slept in the woods just because Charlie suggested it.
“We were supposed to be studying for finals,” John said.
During his time as a runner for IU, Charlie was on 2004-05 track team that finished second in the Big Ten in both the indoor and outdoor seasons. Charlie left IU after two years in 2006 to join the Navy.
“He could’ve stayed at IU,” John said. “He chose to go do that. We’re all very proud of everything he’s done for us.”
