Navy Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Robert Richard McRill

Died July 6, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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42, of Lake Placid, Fla.; assigned to an East Coast-based SEAL team; died July 6 as a result of enemy action while conducting combat operations near Baghdad. Also killed were Cryptologic Technician 1st Class Steven Phillip Daugherty and Special Warfare Operator 1st Class (SEAL) Jason Dale Lewis.

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Sailor from Lake Placid killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

MIAMI — A Lake Placid man was among three sailors killed July 6 in Baghdad, the Department of Defense announced July 7.

Petty Officer 1st Class Robert McRill, 42, died when an improvised bomb detonated under the Humvee in which he was riding, officials said.

The blast also killed fellow sailors Jason Dale Lewis, 30, of Brookfield, Conn.; and Steven Daugherty, 28, of Barstow, Calif. They also were based in Virginia at the time of their deployment.

McRill spent 16 years in the Navy and served aboard two aircraft carriers. He lived with his wife and three children in Yorktown, Va.

Capt. Chaz Heron, commander of Naval Special Warfare Group Two, said in a written statement Saturday that the sailors “embodied the Navy core values of honor, courage and commitment.”

The special warfare community, he said, “will miss them and will ensure they are never forgotten.”