The soldier serving with the Royal Irish Regiment (RIR) who was killed in Afghanistan yesterday previously served with the US Navy before moving to Co Cavan.
Justin Cupples (29) died yesterday while on a foot patrol in the Sangin district of Helmand province. He served with the 1st Battalion of the RIR, which has been in Afghanistan since the spring and is due to begin returning to Northern Ireland in October.
A second soldier and an interpreter were injured in the explosion, which is believed to have been caused by an improvised explosive device.
Ranger Cupples was born in the United States on the July 29th, 1979. He served with the US Navy and was on board the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Rooseveltduring the initial invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
His family lived in Miami before moving to Co Cavan where he met his Lithuanian wife Vilma. He began training at Catterick Barracks in February 2007.
In an interview with a local newspaper last year he said: “My parents are originally from Ireland, and they had moved back there some years ago.
“When I got out of the Navy five years ago I didn’t really have any family in the States, so I moved back to Co Cavan. I have lived there since 2003 and kind of missed the military, but at the same time I wanted to stay in Europe. So the Royal Irish seemed the best option to me at the time.”
His decision to join the British army was spurred by the belief he had some unfinished business with the Taliban.
“It was one of the things I regretted after September 11, not being able to go in there [to Afghanistan] and do the job that needed to be done, and obviously still needs doing,” he said when interviewed before the Royal Irish’s recent deployment to Helmand.
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t apprehensive at some level but I’m anxious to go at the same time. I think it’s now about trying to restore order to Afghanistan and trying to make it into some sort of a country,” Ranger Cupples said.
During his time with the RIR, the soldier showed a skill for languages and in Helmand was able to communicate to the locals in Pashto, often without the need for an interpreter.
Lieut Col Ed Freely, Commanding Officer of the Royal Irish 1st Battalion, described the death as a “great loss”.
“Justin Cupples was a character. He stood out as such. He was from Cavan, but I always thought of him as our ‘US Ranger’.”
Additional reporting PA