Cedar Park man killed by fighting in Ukraine

Tom Miller
·2 min read
20

CEDAR PARK, TEXAS (KXAN) — A Cedar Park man who traveled to Ukraine to offer humanitarian assistance has been killed in the fighting.

The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed to Irish media that Graham Dale, 45, died last week while fighting for the Ukrainian Army, according to Irish Public Service Broadcaster RTÉ.

Dale was a Marine veteran and Irish-American citizen who lived in Cedar Park.

In May 2022, Dale talked with KXAN and said his original plan was to travel to Poland to help with the wave of refugees fleeing over the border it shares with Ukraine.

However, days after quitting his job in Cedar Park, Dale found himself driving toward the battle zone in Ukraine, feeling compelled to help those in the warzone.

Graham Dale, 45, fills a car full of supplies while in Ukraine offering humanitarian relief in 2022. Dale died last week in Ukraine. (Courtesy: Graham Dale)
Graham Dale, 45, fills a car full of supplies while in Ukraine offering humanitarian relief in 2022. Dale died last week in Ukraine. (Courtesy: Graham Dale)

“This is somewhere that I’ve been to on vacation before I know people from here,” he said at the time. “To me, this is an attack on all of Europe, and I felt compelled with my current skillset and so forth that I could help in any way that I could.”

In addition to serving in Iraq with the Marines, Graham made a habit of showing up at natural disasters across the U.S. to try and help.

In 2022, Graham told us that once he got into Ukraine, he met up with other U.S. and European military veterans to try and offer humanitarian help.

The trips ranged from orphanages to hospitals—both inside cities and out in the countryside.

“You realize that you are the boots on the ground. You are that line in the sand,” Graham said. “There is no magic government button that presses, and millions of resources make themselves available. Generally speaking, it’s civilian volunteers stepping up to the plate. (They) are the ones that help most with the people during and after these kinds of disasters and wars.”

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