Fallen soldier face of our community

The images on the Facebook page could belong to any of the young men we hold dearest when they’re far from home.
Especially in a combat zone.
Making faces with his sister.
Getting a kiss from his fiancée.
Showing off a wild hog he’d bagged at night.
Patrick Lay was the boy next door.
A boy who grows up before you realize it to become a man.
A man who courageously puts himself in harm’s way for his country.
His county, too.
When word of the 2008 Braden River High School graduate’s death in Afghanistan hit us Friday, it conjured up the names of our six other fallen warriors, all Manatee County high school grads, who were killed in Iraq:
Christopher Cobb.
Scott Dougherty.
John L. Hartman Jr.
Paul Mardis Jr.
Christopher North.
Justin Schmidt.
They, too, were the boys next door.
 
Read more Saturday in Mannix About Manatee on Bradenton.com