serviceyears branch death_place death_date birth_place allegiance unit birth_date nickname rank article_title name
1969-1992 23px british army thessaloniki , greece 26 august 2011 -lrb- aged 62 -rrb- laurieston , stirlingshire , scotland , uk united kingdom united kingdom 22 sas 25 april 1949 mac staff sergeant john mcaleese
 john mcaleese
john mcaleese

john thomas `` mac '' mcaleese , mm -lrb- 25 april 1949 -- 26 august 2011 -rrb- was a british army soldier who led an sas team which stormed the iranian embassy in london in may 1980 to end the iranian embassy siege -lrb- operation nimrod -rrb- .
he became known for retelling his story on tv and for taking part in the reality show '' '' .
mcaleese was born in stirling and grew up in laurieston , stirlingshire .
he joined 59 independent commando , royal engineers , in 1969 , aged 20 .
he moved to hereford in 1975 after being accepted by the sas .
he was a lance corporal in 1980 , serving in pagoda troop , b squadron , 22 sas regiment , when he was famously seen with members of his team - blue team - on live television placing an explosive charge on the front first floor balcony of the iranian embassy prior to the assault on 5 may 1980 .
mcaleese later took part in the falklands war in 1982 , and was awarded the military medal in 1988 for service in northern ireland .
he also served as a bodyguard for three british prime ministers .
he was honourably discharged from the british army on 8 february 1992 in the rank of staff sergeant .
after that , he worked as a security consultant in iraq and afghanistan , and was also an airsoft instructor .
mcaleese married twice .
in 2009 , his elder son , 29-year-old sergeant paul mcaleese of 2 battalion the rifles , was killed on active duty in afghanistan by a roadside bomb in helmand province .
john mcaleese suffered a heart attack and died in thessaloniki , greece .
his funeral was held at hereford cathedral .
he was survived by his second wife , a daughter by his first marriage , and two children by his second marriage .
