If the name Krista Keating-Joseph sounds familiar, it should. Since 2022, she has served on the St. Johns County Commission, representing District 4 and bringing to public service a life shaped by family, faith, athletics, loss and resilience. But long before she was known to many residents as Commissioner Krista Joseph, she carried a title no mother ever wants to receive: Gold Star Mom.
Her son, U.S. Navy SEAL Charles Keating IV, was killed in action on May 3, 2016, while fighting ISIS forces near Mosul, Iraq. He was 31 years old. Charlie was a Special Warfare Operator 1st Class assigned to Coronado’s SEAL Team One.
For Krista, the moment two sailors arrived at her door changed everything. The loss was devastating, sudden and unimaginable. Yet in the years that followed, she found a way to keep Charlie’s memory alive not only for her family, but for readers who would never have the chance to know him personally.
That effort became the heart of her writing.
Krista is the award-winning author of the Big-Hearted Charlie children’s book series, inspired by her son’s life. Her first book, Big-Hearted Charlie Runs the Mile, was published in 2017 and told the true story of how Charlie, despite his small size, worked hard to compete against bigger boys in track. The series continued with Big-Hearted Charlie Never Gives Up, which won a Royal Palm Literary Award in the children’s category. The books were illustrated by Krista’s mother, Arizona-based artist Phyllis Holmes, making the project a deeply personal family tribute.
But her most personal and expansive work is Charlie Don’t Be a Hero: A Mother’s Story of the Extraordinary Life of Her Son, U.S. Navy SEAL Charles Keating IV. Co-written with retired Colonel Will G. Merrill Jr., the biography grew out of a much smaller idea. Merrill initially approached Krista about writing a chapter on Charlie for one of his books. Krista was hesitant, but agreed to spend an hour a week sharing memories of her son. That process lasted three years. Eventually, it became clear that one chapter would not be enough.
The result is not simply a military biography. It is a mother’s account of a son she knew first as a fun-loving, adventurous boy, and later as a warrior. The book traces Charlie’s childhood, his determination, his decision to become a Navy SEAL, and the family love that surrounded him throughout his life. A 2020 release about the book noted that Charlie’s decision to serve was influenced by the attacks of September 11, and that he later became a recipient of the Navy Cross, the Navy’s highest military honor.
For Krista, writing was never something she expected to do. In an interview with The Coronado Times, she admitted that she had not imagined becoming an author before Charlie’s death. But the process became part of how she moved through grief. She described the writing as therapeutic and said her hope was to help other parents understand that, even after unthinkable loss, they could “find their way through and smile again.”
That perspective is what makes her story especially meaningful during Memorial Day, a time when communities pause to honor the men and women who never returned home from military service. For many, Memorial Day can feel ceremonial or distant. Through Krista’s books, the meaning becomes deeply personal. Readers encounter Charlie not only as a fallen Navy SEAL, but as a son, brother, husband, athlete, friend and child whose life was full long before his name was carved into military memory.
Today, Krista continues to share Charlie’s story while serving the St. Johns County community. Her books give Charlie’s life dimension beyond the details of his death. They invite readers to understand the boy before the warrior, the family behind the sacrifice, and the mother who continues to carry his memory forward.
As Memorial Day approaches, Charlie Don’t Be a Hero offers St. Johns County readers a powerful way to reflect on the cost of service. It is a story of courage, faith, family and loss, but also one of love strong enough to become a legacy.
Charlie Don’t Be a Hero is available on Amazon.
