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Old 07-28-2017, 03:26 PM
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Arrow Medal of Honor veteran meets with jail inmates, shares story of his own challenges

Medal of Honor veteran meets with jail inmates, shares story of his own challenges
By: Frank S. AbderholdenContact Reporter - News-Sun - 7-28-17
RE: http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburb...728-story.html


After nearly flunking out of both grade school and high school, Allen Lynch of Gurnee joined the United States Army, where he also had a rough time, nearly earning himself a dishonorable discharge before a fateful day in combat.

Lynch was 22 years old and serving as a radio telephone operator with the Army's 12th Cavalry on Dec. 15, 1967, when his unit was attacked in the Binh Dinh Province of South Vietnam. Ignoring enemy fire and saving three of his fellow wounded soldiers would eventually lead to Lynch receiving the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military decoration, from then-President Richard Nixon.

Lynch is known around Lake County for his past talks to various groups and for having an overpass bearing his name at Grand Avenue and the Tri-State Tollway in Gurnee. But on Friday, he kicked off a new program at the Lake County Jail in which people who have overcome obstacles in their lives speak to the inmates about changing behavior and making plans so they don't end up back in custody and can find a better life.

Lynch had been a regular at the jail through Joy Lutheran Church of Gurnee as part of a Bible study group with inmates some seven or eight years ago. This time, he was the main attraction as part of the jail's new "Real People, Real Stories" program.

"He is one of the most inspirational people. The inmates that hear him will hear about the value of redemption and not letting the past define who you are," said Sheriff Mark Curran. "He didn't let his past define his potential."

Lynch described to both men and women inmates how he was bullied as a child, "and not the cyberbullying we have today — this was the good old-fashioned punch-in-the-face bullying," adding that was why he didn't do well in school and actually thought he was stupid.

"I was a lousy student," he said.

But when he joined the Army, Lynch added, he began to learn how to get along with all kinds of people — rich, black, white, poor — because you slept bunk-to-bunk, and the commodes for the bathroom were out in the open. He learned to stand up for himself.

"There was no privacy," Lynch said. When he entered the service, he added, he was given a test and it turned out maybe he wasn't so stupid after all, and he was given the opportunity to go to officer's school. He lasted four weeks before leaving, because once again, he felt he was getting picked on.

"It was all about me. I've learned that once you realize it is not all about you, you can change your life around," he said.

But Lynch told the gathering that he still wasn't done screwing up — he was cited under Article 15 for talking back to an officer, which meant being docked seven days' pay, having an extra 15 days of duty cleaning the toilets and bunkhouse, and another 15 days confined to the barracks.

Then he received another Article 15 when a friend was going to go AWOL (Absent Without Leave), so Lynch went to get him at a bar to bring him back. "Of course we had to have a couple of beers first. And we got caught," he said, adding that one more Article 15 and he could have been dishonorably discharged.

But Lynch said he was bonding with his fellow soldiers. "I was closer to them than my own family. It didn't matter who you were or where you were from or what you looked like," he said.

Disregarding his safety in the face of withering hostile fire, he crossed 70 meters of exposed terrain five times to carry his wounded comrades to a more secure area.
— Allen Lynch's Medal of Honor citation

In combat ,everything changed. On that fateful day, according to his citation for the Medal of Honor, Lynch ran across 50 meters of open ground "through a withering hail of enemy fire" to aid three wounded comrades. He then cleared a nearby trench, killing two enemy soldiers in the process, and "unhesitatingly returned to the fire-swept area" three times to carry the wounded men to safety.

"When his company was forced to withdraw by the superior firepower of the enemy, Sgt. Lynch remained to aid his comrades at the risk of his life rather than abandon them," the citation states. "Alone, he defended his isolated position for two hours against the advancing enemy. Using only his rifle and a grenade, he stopped them just short of his trench, killing five.

"Again, disregarding his safety in the face of withering hostile fire, he crossed 70 meters of exposed terrain five times to carry his wounded comrades to a more secure area. (His) gallantry at the risk of his life is in the highest traditions of the military service, (and) Sgt. Lynch has reflected great credit on himself, the 12th Cavalry, and the U.S. Army."

When he left the service, Lynch said, he went to the College of Lake County and then a four-year college and made honor roll at both schools. He went on to work for veteran's rights with the Illinois Attorney General's Office and later at the Department of Veterans Affairs. He married and had a child. He also suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

"For a lot of years, it was my excuse," he said. But he urged inmates to re-examine themselves.

"We don't stay the same person. We can change and be different," he told the inmates. "Sometimes under pressure, a person can become a diamond or stay a lump of coal.

"If I can do it, all of you can do it too. We can be a benefit to everyone who knows us. It's all up to you. Every one of you has the potential. Don't miss the opportunity," he added. "You have a lot of life left to live — make it positive."

fabderholden@tribpub.com
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O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
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