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Command Post with Howard Altman

Another Sarasota-Area Family Touched By Death In Afghanistan

Posted Aug 13, 2011 by Howard Altman

Updated Aug 13, 2011 at 10:29 PM

One of the comments I have often heard in the wake of the recent death of 30 U.S. service members aboard a Chinook helicopter is “We hear so much about the SEALs. What about the others?”

While 22 SEALs died in the crash, there will be 30 funerals in the wake of that accident here, and likely another eight in Afghanistan for the seven ANA commandos and the civilian translator who also died in the crash. There were three Air Force special operators and five chopper crew members among the Americans killed.

It was a point not lost on Adm. Eric Olson, who was commander of U.S. Special Operations Command on the day of the crash. At the ceremony to mark handing over command to another SEAL, Adm. William McRaven, Olson, before talking about those killed on the chopper,  first recalled that other special operators had died in recent days, including one - Army Ranger Sgt. Alessandro L. Plutino, 28, of Pitman, N.J.- killed the morning of the ceremony.

A short while ago, a co-worker asked if viewers will care about anyone other than the SEALs who dies in Afghanistan.

My answer was two-fold.

Around here, people care. And for those who don’t, it is still our duty, as the media, to bring home the stories of men and women who serve, because there are lives on the line and billions and billions of tax-payer dollars being spent.

And in that vein, here is a story from our partners at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune about Patrick Lay II, another young man killed in action.

Army Spc. 4 Patrick Lay II already had survived one close call while in Afghanistan, and had hoped to come home to Manatee County next year to marry his high school sweetheart.

But those dreams were scuttled Thursday when the 21-year-old soldier was among five American servicemen killed by an improvised explosive device.

The 2007 graduate of Braden River High School was on patrol with the elite Army 10th Mountain Division in southern Afghanistan when the bomb went off.

Lay was engaged to Joann Steiff, 21, and planned to get married Aug. 20, 2012, said his mother, Stefenie Hernandez of Bradenton. “His voice sounded very good when I talked to him” three weeks ago, Hernandez said Friday. “He was very upbeat.”

Lay was on his first tour of duty in Afghanistan, which began in March. In April, he suffered a concussion and partial hearing loss from an IED explosion.

Lay’s father, Patrick Lay of Murfreesboro, Tenn., said his son hoped to pursue a career in engineering after his Army service.

“He loved life, and he lived it to the fullest,” said Patrick Lay, a former Manatee County sheriff’s deputy. “I know he made a difference in all the lives he came into contact with. And if given a chance, he would’ve made a difference with a lot of other people, too.”

The younger Lay played tight end and defensive end for Braden River’s football team and “always wanted to be where the action was,” his father said.

This marks the second time in a week that Sarasota area families have been rocked by casualty reports from Afghanistan. On Aug. 5, Scott Bill of Sarasota learned his 31-year-old Navy SEAL son, Brian, was killed in the Chinook helicopter crash that claimed the lives of 30 other Americans.

The elder Lay said Patrick went to work as a forklift operator at a cement plant after graduation, but got laid off when the economy went south.

“At the time, he said he didn’t want to be a burden to his family, and he wanted to do something that would make a difference,” Lay said. “We talked to him about that, and he wanted to go into the infantry. He knew the risks.”

Patrick Lay II also is survived by Bradenton siblings Nikki, Colby, Blakely and Braelyn. Family members will be at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware today when his casket arrives. Funeral arrangements are incomplete.

Sign a guest book for Lay

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