thedrifter
08-01-07, 02:40 PM
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
lance cpl. robert lynch
'He served his country'
Louisville Marine killed during patrol in Iraq returns home
By Chris Kenning
ckenning@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
A small white jet touched down just before 9:45 a.m. yesterday and taxied slowly to a stop near a private hangar at Louisville International Airport. A waiting hearse backed toward the plane to receive the body of Lance Cpl. Robert Lynch.
Relatives of the 20-year-old Marine killed in Iraq stood in a cluster, wiping tears. A Marine honor guard and a line of veterans snapped to attention.
The plane door opened, and Lynch's flag-draped coffin was lowered on a lift. The sound of cars roaring along Interstate 65 nearly drowned out the bagpipes that played as the casket was carried to the hearse.
"We've been here before; we've all lost friends" in the war, said Jude Hays, a fellow Marine and Lynch's former classmate, himself a survivor of a car-bomb attack in Iraq. "It ages you."
Yesterday marked the homecoming of the latest Louisville soldier to die in Iraq, slain on patrol after four months there.
As of yesterday, at least 3,652 members of the U.S. military have died since the war began in March 2003, according to The Associated Press. Fifty-nine from Kentucky and 77 from Indiana have died.
According to the military, Lynch, an engineer-equipment mechanic assigned to the First Battalion of the III Marine Expeditionary Force, died during combat in Anbar province on July 24. He'd been in the Marines about 14 months.
Retired Sgt. Maj. Gary Wilson, a Seneca High ROTC instructor, has said the 2005 Seneca ROTC graduate was killed while on patrol. No further information has been released on his death.
His family requested a private family viewing yesterday, with a public viewing scheduled today and a memorial service tomorrow.
Dozens of veterans, relatives and friends met the plane yesterday.
"How you feel about the war doesn't matter," said Dale McKinney, a Vietnam vet wearing a patch-laden leather vest and jeans and holding an American flag. "He served his country honorably and bravely."
Mike Smith, Lynch's pastor at Eastside Praise Ministry Center, has described him as a charming, soft-spoken young man who lived in Fairdale and was convinced he could make a difference.
In high school, Lynch spent four years in ROTC. By the time he joined the Marines on May 30, 2006, going to Iraq was a near certainty. But he "believed that the war in Iraq was a war that would ultimately provide freedom" for Iraqis, Smith said.
Friend and fellow Marine Joe Sabel, 20, who attended ROTC with Lynch, also said he was resolved to go.
Lynch had a serious talk with his pastor about the danger before his departure.
"You know, some people do not return," Smith recalled telling him.
"I know. I've thought about that," Lynch responded. "If that's what happens … I am still committed to go."
When Lynch left for Iraq, he still held dreams of becoming a singer in Hollywood.
Earlier this month, Smith spoke to Lynch on the phone, and the Marine said his tour was going well.
Yesterday the family was grieving, Smith said. One relative, a member of the Air Force serving in Iraq, flew home with the body, relative Chuck Bauer said.
For Hays, Lynch's death has unnerved his own family. That's because Hays will head back to Iraq in just a month. Last time, he said, "it was hairy" -- so dangerous that his Humvee got rammed by a suicide car-bomber, but he wasn't seriously hurt.
"After this…," he said, squinting at the casket-carrying plane still sitting on the tarmac, "my mom's a mess."
The coffin was driven away, followed by four limousines.
Afterward, the pilot hurried to refuel. There was another body to deliver.
Reporter Chris Kenning can be reached at (502) 582-4697.
Ellie
lance cpl. robert lynch
'He served his country'
Louisville Marine killed during patrol in Iraq returns home
By Chris Kenning
ckenning@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
A small white jet touched down just before 9:45 a.m. yesterday and taxied slowly to a stop near a private hangar at Louisville International Airport. A waiting hearse backed toward the plane to receive the body of Lance Cpl. Robert Lynch.
Relatives of the 20-year-old Marine killed in Iraq stood in a cluster, wiping tears. A Marine honor guard and a line of veterans snapped to attention.
The plane door opened, and Lynch's flag-draped coffin was lowered on a lift. The sound of cars roaring along Interstate 65 nearly drowned out the bagpipes that played as the casket was carried to the hearse.
"We've been here before; we've all lost friends" in the war, said Jude Hays, a fellow Marine and Lynch's former classmate, himself a survivor of a car-bomb attack in Iraq. "It ages you."
Yesterday marked the homecoming of the latest Louisville soldier to die in Iraq, slain on patrol after four months there.
As of yesterday, at least 3,652 members of the U.S. military have died since the war began in March 2003, according to The Associated Press. Fifty-nine from Kentucky and 77 from Indiana have died.
According to the military, Lynch, an engineer-equipment mechanic assigned to the First Battalion of the III Marine Expeditionary Force, died during combat in Anbar province on July 24. He'd been in the Marines about 14 months.
Retired Sgt. Maj. Gary Wilson, a Seneca High ROTC instructor, has said the 2005 Seneca ROTC graduate was killed while on patrol. No further information has been released on his death.
His family requested a private family viewing yesterday, with a public viewing scheduled today and a memorial service tomorrow.
Dozens of veterans, relatives and friends met the plane yesterday.
"How you feel about the war doesn't matter," said Dale McKinney, a Vietnam vet wearing a patch-laden leather vest and jeans and holding an American flag. "He served his country honorably and bravely."
Mike Smith, Lynch's pastor at Eastside Praise Ministry Center, has described him as a charming, soft-spoken young man who lived in Fairdale and was convinced he could make a difference.
In high school, Lynch spent four years in ROTC. By the time he joined the Marines on May 30, 2006, going to Iraq was a near certainty. But he "believed that the war in Iraq was a war that would ultimately provide freedom" for Iraqis, Smith said.
Friend and fellow Marine Joe Sabel, 20, who attended ROTC with Lynch, also said he was resolved to go.
Lynch had a serious talk with his pastor about the danger before his departure.
"You know, some people do not return," Smith recalled telling him.
"I know. I've thought about that," Lynch responded. "If that's what happens … I am still committed to go."
When Lynch left for Iraq, he still held dreams of becoming a singer in Hollywood.
Earlier this month, Smith spoke to Lynch on the phone, and the Marine said his tour was going well.
Yesterday the family was grieving, Smith said. One relative, a member of the Air Force serving in Iraq, flew home with the body, relative Chuck Bauer said.
For Hays, Lynch's death has unnerved his own family. That's because Hays will head back to Iraq in just a month. Last time, he said, "it was hairy" -- so dangerous that his Humvee got rammed by a suicide car-bomber, but he wasn't seriously hurt.
"After this…," he said, squinting at the casket-carrying plane still sitting on the tarmac, "my mom's a mess."
The coffin was driven away, followed by four limousines.
Afterward, the pilot hurried to refuel. There was another body to deliver.
Reporter Chris Kenning can be reached at (502) 582-4697.
Ellie