Fallen Heroes of Kilo Battery Part IV

This is the fourth and final in a series of tributes to the four young men who died in the same IED explosion that caused Sam’s injuries.  Sam’s medical status will follow each tribute.  Please continue to pray for the family and friends of these brave warriors.  We must never forget the ultimate sacrifice they made for their country.

Lance Cpl. Robert A. Lynch, USMC:  Lance Cpl. Robert A. Lynch, USMC, 20, is from Louisville Kentucky.  He died on July 24 while performing convoy duty in the Diyala province of Iraq. 

Robert graduated from Seneca High School in 2005 and school officials spoke highly of him.  “He was a hero for us,” Michael McWilliams, a counselor at Seneca, told The (Louisville) Courier-Journal.  He did a lot of things for us and a lot for our ROTC program.

“He’d tell me all the time, ‘Mom, I’m going over there to fight for you,,’ ” his mother, Angela Robinson, told WLKY-TV. 

Lynch’s brother, Michael, also fought in Iraq.  “I would be honored to go the same way my brother went,”  Michael Lynch said.  “I’m so proud of him.”

“Robbie was a little bit of a jokester. He put a smile on your face, but when it came time to get something done, he was the first to jump in and stand shoulder to shoulder with you,” said retired Marine Col. Richard Maloney, who taught Lynch in ROTC courses at the school.

Mike Smith, pastor at Eastside Praise Ministry Center, said he baptized Lynch about a year and a half ago.  “He was so charming and kind,” Smith said. “There was a side of him that truly believed in what he was doing. He was convinced his life in this capacity was really going to make a difference.”

Gov. Ernie Fletcher has ordered that flags at all state office buildings be lowered to half-staff until sunset on the day of Lynch’s funeral. Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson issued a similar order through July 30.

“My Brother was the biggest Hero this REAL world has seen. He wanted to fight for our freedom, he asked to go on the mission he was on when he died. My bro always did what he had to do no matter the danger. I just want to tell everyone that the word ‘HERO’ is not used enough for the ones that don’t come home.”

He was our HERO on earth Now He’s God’s Hero.
Randall C. Lynch (brother)

Sam’s medical status: 

Tuesday – Sam had a hard day today.  He was sleepy most of the day and just wasn’t into the physical and occupational therapy.  He did have a shower and also was elevated to 70 degrees today which is pretty close to upright.  Tomorrow the therapist will try to get Sam into a wheelchair.

The therapist capped Sam’s tracheotomy tube for about 15 minutes.  During this time he was breathing through his noise and throat.  He seemed to do fine and wasn’t struggling.  They will continue this routine in preparation for removing his tracheotomy tube later this week or possibly next week.

Wednesday – Sam had his tracheotomy tube capped for an hour today without any problems.  His oxygen saturation level remained high which is good.  Tomorrow they will “cap” him for two hours.

During therapy Sam sat all the way up (in preparation for using a wheelchair) and he was also moved into a totally upright position on his special bed/board that can angle him up in varying degrees. 

Sam was moving around quite a bit when Erin arrived around 9:00 AM.  He seems to remain in a pretty good mood when Erin is around but is less hospitable when it’s just the nurses or therapist.  When Erin left for a few minutes the nurse noticed his pulse rate went up to 130 but when she came back in the room it when back down to normal (around 90). 

Lots of visitors today including Sam’s buddies Jake and Paul from high school ROTC.  Erin said when they came in, Sam held his hand out to greet both of them.  It looks like he is recognizing long time friends from the past, so that is very reassuring.

Sources: 
Military City.COM http://www.militarycity.com/valor/2926917.html
Iraq-nam http://iraqnam.blogspot.com/2007/07/robert-lynch-dies-while-conducting.html
The Courier-Journal.com (Louisville, Kentucky) http://www.courier-journal.com
Wave3.com http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=6846603&nav=0RZF
Brotherhood in Arms http://www.brotherhoodinarms.org/casualties/lance-cpl-robert-a-lynch/

Graphics Acknowledgements:
The picture collage from this post is courtesy of Michelle at Chelle’s Designs. Used with permission. Michelle can be contacted at:  http://www.myspace.com/chellesmildesigns