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- The People Behind The Sacrifice
Marine Lance Cpl. Robert A. Lynch
Died July 24, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom
20, of Louisville, Ky.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan; died July 24 while conducting combat operations in Rushidiyah, Iraq.
Kentucky Marine among 3 killed in Iraq
The Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Marine from Kentucky was among three killed this week during combat operations in Iraq, the military said July 26.
Lance Cpl. Robert A. Lynch, 20, of Louisville, died July 24 in Rushidiyah, Iraq — the site of a major military operation against a Sunni insurgent stronghold, the Defense Department said in a statement.
Lynch was assigned to 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.
He 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.”
Also killed were Cpl. James H. McRae, 22, of Springtown, Texas and Cpl. Matthew R. Zindars, 21, of Watertown, Wis., the statement said.
McRae was assigned to 3rd Maintenance Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 35, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.
Zandars was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Marine killed in combat was eager to fight in Iraq, family says
The Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Louisville Marine killed in Iraq this week was intent on fighting in the war and headed straight to boot camp after graduation, his family said.
Lance Cpl. Robert A. Lynch, 20, of Louisville, died July 24 in Rushidiyah, Iraq. Two other Marines were killed in the military operation against a Sunni insurgent stronghold, the military said in a statement.
“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 was assigned to 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, in Okinawa, Japan.
Lynch’s brother, Michael, also fought in Iraq.
“I would be honored to go the same way my brother went,” Michael Lynch said. “It would be an honor. I’m so proud of him.”
Lynch graduated from Seneca High School in Louisville in 2005, where he was a well-liked member of the ROTC.
“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.
“He had so many friends here, the word went around like wild fire,” Maloney told The (Louisville) Courier-Journal. “This is a big loss for us.”
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.”
Killed alongside Lynch were Cpl. James H. McRae, 22, of Springtown, Texas and Cpl. Matthew R. Zindars, 21, of Watertown, Wis.
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. Funeral arrangements were pending.
Body of Marine killed in Iraq returned for burial
The Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The body of a Louisville Marine who was killed last week in Iraq arrived in his hometown July 31 as a Marine honor guard and a line of veterans stood at attention.
Lance Cpl. Robert Lynch’s flag-draped coffin was moved from a small jet to a waiting hearse as bagpipes played and a group of relatives wiped tears.
Lynch, 20, an engineer-equipment mechanic assigned to the 1st Battalion, III Marine Expeditionary Force, was killed July 24 while serving on patrol. Two other Marines were killed in the military operation against a Sunni insurgent stronghold, the military said in a statement.
He had served in Iraq for four months and had been in the Marines about 14 months.
“We’ve been here before; we’ve all lost friends” in the war, Jude Hays, a fellow Marine and Lynch’s former classmate at Seneca High School, told The Courier-Journal. “It ages you.”
Lynch’s funeral will be at 11 a.m. EDT August 2 at Eastside Praise Ministry Center with burial in Zachary Taylor National Cemetery. Visitation is from noon to 8 p.m. August 1 at the church.