FourZeroCharlie
MIA
Until mentioned on another site, I had missed this one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_McKay#In_the_media
The testimony of those that recovered his body needs no further comment from this c/s.
The morning after the battle....
Sgt George Duffus:
We were tasked to look for any deceased members of 3 Para. This task was allocated to us by CO; he didn’t want B Company having to pick up their own dead. It was a task that I didn’t relish asking my blokes to carry out. But it was a task given to me, and it had to be completed. We then began looking for members of the battalion that may have been missed; it was something that filled us with trepidation. We knew that we might be dealing with the bodies of people that we knew well, especially when dealing with the members of your own platoon or company. This was a duty that was required to be done with dignity. It was something I shall never forget - the discomfort we felt as we walked past the Third Bowl. I remember WO2 Sammy Doc Dougherty saying, “Who is that?” On closer inspection, I discovered it was Sgt Ian McKay. He was lying head first, half in and half out of an Argentine trench. I instantly recognised him, as one of my previous roles had been as 4 Platoon Sergeant, and Ian McKay had taken over the role from me when I left to go back to the Anti-Tank Platoon (just prior to the conflict). In the trench with Ian were three dead Argentines with obviously fatal lower limb wounds, compatible with grenades exploding at ground level in the trench. Privates Kev Darke, Pete Maddocks, Tony Bojko and I, lifted Ian out of the trench. Kev Darke removed Ian McKay’s ID Discs tags from around his neck and passed them to me. There were other people there, including CSM John Weeks, but it was getting all a bit much by this stage, as this was a very emotional time for everyone involved in the task of body recovery. We then wrapped Ian in a poncho and carried him down to the R.A.P, where we placed him alongside our other dead.
Sgt Ian McKay VC:
Initially Ian’s body had lain at the front of the Argentine bunker. However, as the night progressed that area was extensively shelled and also reoccupied by Argentine troops. We can only imagine they would have searched the bodies lying in that area, and somehow his body was either blown or placed into the bunker head first:
Pte Pete Maddocks:
When we found Sgt McKay, he was laying head first in an Argentine trench with rocks placed around the edge of it. We began to pull him out, Sgt George Duffus and Tony Bojko took hold of his legs and me and Kev Darke took the top half and slowly lifted him out, we lay him on a poncho, Kev Darke passed one of his ID discs up to George Duffus, there were three dead Argentines in the trench with him, as we were doing this, an Argentine soldier appeared from somewhere and put his hands up, he was taken away by members of B Company, then George Duffus, Tony Bojko, Kev Darke and me, carried Sgt McKay down to the R.A.P area, after this Tony Bojko and me made our way back to Full Back and see how Graham Tolson was doing.
Pte Tony Bojko:
One thing that will always stay with me was the smell of death on that hill. Unless you've been in that situation you cannot imagine what it’s like. You often see photos of death and destruction, but the smell, it stays with you. We continued with the task of helping recover some of our dead. Kev Darke, Pete Maddocks, Sgt George Duffus and I came across Sgt Ian McKay. I nearly walked past the position, but then I noticed the British camouflage uniform. Also in the trench with him were a number of dead Argentines. We cut his webbing off and Kev Darke passed his ID tags to George Duffus, we then recovered his body from the trench. Sammy Dougherty, who was also with us helped wrap him up in a poncho. I also remember seeing CSM Johnny Weeks with a tear in his eye. As I looked around there were Argentine weapons everywhere. I saw one of our blokes holding a prisoner by the neck and forcing him to go face to face with a dead British soldier, and he was saying, “Look what you've ******* done, you ******* b*st*rd!” The prisoner was crying his eyes out. But, that’s was not the way all prisoners were treated, however, some people, as in every group of people, found it hard to hold back, but the vast majority of 3 Para had seen and done enough
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_McKay#In_the_media
The testimony of those that recovered his body needs no further comment from this c/s.
The morning after the battle....
Sgt George Duffus:
We were tasked to look for any deceased members of 3 Para. This task was allocated to us by CO; he didn’t want B Company having to pick up their own dead. It was a task that I didn’t relish asking my blokes to carry out. But it was a task given to me, and it had to be completed. We then began looking for members of the battalion that may have been missed; it was something that filled us with trepidation. We knew that we might be dealing with the bodies of people that we knew well, especially when dealing with the members of your own platoon or company. This was a duty that was required to be done with dignity. It was something I shall never forget - the discomfort we felt as we walked past the Third Bowl. I remember WO2 Sammy Doc Dougherty saying, “Who is that?” On closer inspection, I discovered it was Sgt Ian McKay. He was lying head first, half in and half out of an Argentine trench. I instantly recognised him, as one of my previous roles had been as 4 Platoon Sergeant, and Ian McKay had taken over the role from me when I left to go back to the Anti-Tank Platoon (just prior to the conflict). In the trench with Ian were three dead Argentines with obviously fatal lower limb wounds, compatible with grenades exploding at ground level in the trench. Privates Kev Darke, Pete Maddocks, Tony Bojko and I, lifted Ian out of the trench. Kev Darke removed Ian McKay’s ID Discs tags from around his neck and passed them to me. There were other people there, including CSM John Weeks, but it was getting all a bit much by this stage, as this was a very emotional time for everyone involved in the task of body recovery. We then wrapped Ian in a poncho and carried him down to the R.A.P, where we placed him alongside our other dead.
Sgt Ian McKay VC:
Initially Ian’s body had lain at the front of the Argentine bunker. However, as the night progressed that area was extensively shelled and also reoccupied by Argentine troops. We can only imagine they would have searched the bodies lying in that area, and somehow his body was either blown or placed into the bunker head first:
Pte Pete Maddocks:
When we found Sgt McKay, he was laying head first in an Argentine trench with rocks placed around the edge of it. We began to pull him out, Sgt George Duffus and Tony Bojko took hold of his legs and me and Kev Darke took the top half and slowly lifted him out, we lay him on a poncho, Kev Darke passed one of his ID discs up to George Duffus, there were three dead Argentines in the trench with him, as we were doing this, an Argentine soldier appeared from somewhere and put his hands up, he was taken away by members of B Company, then George Duffus, Tony Bojko, Kev Darke and me, carried Sgt McKay down to the R.A.P area, after this Tony Bojko and me made our way back to Full Back and see how Graham Tolson was doing.
Pte Tony Bojko:
One thing that will always stay with me was the smell of death on that hill. Unless you've been in that situation you cannot imagine what it’s like. You often see photos of death and destruction, but the smell, it stays with you. We continued with the task of helping recover some of our dead. Kev Darke, Pete Maddocks, Sgt George Duffus and I came across Sgt Ian McKay. I nearly walked past the position, but then I noticed the British camouflage uniform. Also in the trench with him were a number of dead Argentines. We cut his webbing off and Kev Darke passed his ID tags to George Duffus, we then recovered his body from the trench. Sammy Dougherty, who was also with us helped wrap him up in a poncho. I also remember seeing CSM Johnny Weeks with a tear in his eye. As I looked around there were Argentine weapons everywhere. I saw one of our blokes holding a prisoner by the neck and forcing him to go face to face with a dead British soldier, and he was saying, “Look what you've ******* done, you ******* b*st*rd!” The prisoner was crying his eyes out. But, that’s was not the way all prisoners were treated, however, some people, as in every group of people, found it hard to hold back, but the vast majority of 3 Para had seen and done enough
