Keith Callahan remembered

As a paratrooper for the Army's 82 d Airborne Division, Keith A. Callahan of Woburn often patrolled areas in Iraq that were rife with snipers, insurgents, and roadside bombs. But in four deployments spanning more than two years, the stocky former boxer whose nickname was "Bam-Bam" had managed to avoid serious injuries, family members said yesterday.

Callahan, 31, a sergeant first class and a father of four, was killed last Wednesday in an area south of Baghdad. Callahan had posted himself at a critical road crossing to provide security for his platoon when an improvised explosive device was detonated, killing him, Army officials said yesterday.

"We found out the same night," Callahan's brother, Steven, 36, said by telephone from the family's house in Woburn. "Keith's wife called our mom at midnight. She was screaming that he was dead."

Keith Callahan was the first Woburn native killed in active duty since the Vietnam War. As news of his death carried through the community yesterday morning, his childhood friends consoled one another, and at Woburn Memorial High School, where he graduated in 1993 , several of his former teachers grieved.

"When I heard that he had died, I was devastated," said John Morandi , Keith Callahan's former wrestling coach. "He was this little short guy who was just so fast and extremely coachable. He did everything to help out the team, and you could see back then that the military was a great fit for him. It was funny that when other kids complained about having to do more drills, he welcomed it," said Morandi, who retired as wrestling coach several years ago and is a math teacher at the school.

Bob Norton , who became principal at the school after Keith Callahan graduated, said the paratrooper's name would be added to a memorial at the school for Woburn residents killed in the line of duty since the Revolutionary War. There are more than 200 names on the memorial, the last of which is Corporal Charles McMahon, a Marine killed during the evacuation of Saigon on April 29, 1975 . McMahon was one of the last two US servicemen killed in the Vietnam War, according to Army officials.

"We have a lot of kids who are in the military and have been to Iraq, and up to Wednesday, we were very fortunate that none had died," Norton said. "The school is mourning his loss."

Keith Callahan, the youngest of eight siblings, also played football and baseball at the school. At 135 pounds and standing 5 feet 5 inches , he became a Golden Gloves boxer, training in a local gym. After he graduated, he worked with his brother, Steven, for two years at a local telecommunications company, setting up phone and computer lines. Keith Callahan joined the Army in 1996 . He was stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C. , where he was a two-time boxing champion and earned his nickname, family members said.

"He always wanted to be a soldier," Steven Callahan said. "When he went to airborne school, he met his wife, Dody . She had twins, a boy and a girl, while he was in Iraq for his second deployment."

He will be buried near McClure , Pa., where he lived with his wife and children, but a memorial is being planned next week in his hometown.

"His paramount concern was always his children and family, to include his military family," said a statement issued yesterday by Dody Callahan. "Keith loved his soldiers, and his dedication to duty lasted to the end, shown by the fact that he gave his life to protect his soldiers."

Keith Callahan visited Woburn last summer with his wife and children, and went to a pool party at his brother's house in Manchester, N.H.

"We also went fishing; he loved to fish," Steven Callahan said. His brother would call from Iraq almost every Sunday. The calls were brief. "He was upbeat and focused on what he was doing over there."

From the Globe

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