Local Soldier Killed in Combat in Afghanistan

A 21-year-old Braden River High School graduate was killed in combat in Afghanistan this week, reportedly after he was involved in an IED explosion.

U. S. Army Spc4. Patrick L. Lay II, was an infantryman assigned to the Army’s elite 10th Mountain Division. His remains were being transported to Dover, DE, on Friday.

While his parents were enroute to Deleware, a cousin started a Facebook page in his memory. Within a couple of hours hundreds of people had visited the page to post their condolences, memories and photos.

Lay played football at Braden River High School and students remember him as being funny and kind. His friends quickly reponded to the news of Lay's death arriving at his family's home to offer love and support to Lay's mother and to his fiance.

Lay was recently featured in Stars and Stripes for the sacrifices he had already made in Afghanistan, earning a Purple Heart for an injury he sustained in the spring. The harrowing story details Lay's actions after an IED explosion in April that killed one of his Army buddies. The story offers insights into what goes through a soldier's mind when someone in his unit is killed.

Lay played football at Braden River High School and students remember him as being funny and kind. His friends quickly reponded to the news arriving at his family's home to offer love and support to Lay's mother and to his fiance.

His uncle told ABC-7 that funeral arrangements have not yet been made, but that services will be held in Bradenton.