Visitation Friday For Bradenton Soldier Killed In Afghanistan

Posted Aug 13, 2011 by Howard Altman

Updated Aug 13, 2011 at 10:31 PM

He was a hog hunter.

A feed store worker.

A paintball fanatic.

A military-minded high school football star who joined the Army to become a sniper.

Thursday, Spc. 4 Patrick Lay II was one of five soldiers killed by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan.

Friday, his family will hold a visitation for him in Bradenton.

“He received the highest marks in marksmanship at Ft. Benning since 2007,” said Lay’s uncle, Dale Eason. ”He knew he was going to be a sharpshooter. He was slated to go to sniper school when he came back from Afghanistan.”

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.

Lay, 21, had been injured once before, about three months ago.

“He had been hit by an IED,” said Eason. “It knocked him unconscious. We were feeling very blessed that he had survived one of those attacks already.”

The visitation for Lay will be Friday night at Life Covenant Sanctuary, 5428 39th St. E, Bradenton. There will be a service there Saturday morning.

The family, said Eason, does not yet know what time either service will be held.