16/01/2026
Trigger warning: PTSD
A fine tribute to a South Australian.
Invictus:
Out of the night that covers me
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance,
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul.
The last two lines were Paul's last text to his family.
RIP Captain Paul McKay
Trigger warning: This post deals with issues around Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and su***de.
RSL Victoria today remembers the service and sacrifice of Captain Paul McKay who died on this day in 2014 following service in Afghanistan.
Captain McKay was born in Adelaide on 17 November 1982 and attended Pulteney Grammar School before completing a law/commerce degree at the University of Adelaide. He served with the Adelaide University Army Reserve Regiment and completed training to become an officer in only 13 months.
He was admitted to the bar in 2009 but quit almost immediately and was accepted for a rare direct transfer from Army Reserve to the Regular Army as an officer.
He was posted to Afghanistan in 2011 and worked in the command centre at Tarin Kowt.
Captain McKay was on duty in the command post when three Australian soldiers were killed by a rogue member of the Afghan National Army. Captain McKay helped co-ordinate the initial response and evacuation of wounded Australian soldiers.
The stress of his position mounted, and his mental health declined. He was medically evacuated out of Afghanistan but continued to serve in the Army. His mental health deteriorated further as the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder took over his life.
In late 2013 he arrived in Saranac Lake in New York, USA, just before he was due to have a medical review he feared would see him discharged from the Army.
On New Years Eve he walked alone towards nearby Scarface Mountain and disappeared. After an extensive search he was found on 16 January, having died of hypothermia.
On April 25, 2014, the town of Saranac Lake, NY, held an Anzac Day service on Scarface Mountain where local rangers had constructed a small cairn in his honour.
His parents later travelled to the United States to scatter his ashes on the mountain.
His name is recorded at the Australian War Memorial on panel 1 in the commemorative area. His name will next be projected onto the exterior of the Hall of Memory on Tuesday, 17 March 2026 at 11.55 pm.
If you require any urgent support or assistance around this topic, please reach out to Open Arms via 1800 011 046 or call 000.
