KC Old Boy, 1st Lieutenant Lawrence Reynolds, is preparing for deployment to Iraq. He is expected to depart sometime this month. A medical services officer, he has been in the army for over three years--August will be four years. He is a member of 3-13th Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where has been stationed since 2006.
Prior to Fort Sill, he served at Fort Sam Houston in Texas, and Fort Benning in Georgia, where he received initial and advanced training and his commission.
Lawrence says he has been "married to a wonderful woman by the name of Kara for the past eight years. Our ninth anniversary will be in May (Of course I will miss being here for this one and next year as well). We have three wonderfull children (A daughter 4, and twin boys 2)."
Lawrence entered KC in 1986 and graduated in 1991. He ran track at KC where he focused on the middle distances. After KC ee attended New York's Thomas Jefferson High School and earned a full scholarship to Livingstone College in North Carolina.
Working as an admissions counselor at Livingstone College, his hard work and dedication did not go unnoticed and in 2001 he was featured in a Gleaner article for his work arranging scholarships to his college for more than 20 Jamaican teenagers from various local high schools, including his alma mater, Kingston College.
I spoke to Lawrence by telephone just a few days before he was scheduled to depart for Iraq. I told him the KC family is here for him and he should feel free to let us know if we can assist in any way during this time of uncertainty.
Lawrence wanted to say thanks for all the support he has received as his deployment draws near: "As a soldier, the support we get from our fellow citizens is most important to us, and I can say that the out-pouring that the public has shown us regardless of their stance on the war has been phenomenal. A fellow old boy said recently, "Thank you for doing what you do because if you were not doing it then I would be forced to do it by means of a draft". A fellow Jamaican said, "Better you than me, but I thank you for choosing to fight for this country." I have heard a plethora of comments over the past few years and I have come to this conclusion, it does not matter what the reasons are for the support that is extended to us in the military, but it does matter that we are supported. With that said, whatever the reasons are for extending your support I thank you, the Fortis family, the citizens, and all supporters of this great nation's military for your support."
We pray for God's protection over Lawrence as he moves into the war zone. He is an officer and gentleman in the truest sense of that phrase. And he is a truly brave Fortis warrior - Fortis Cadere Cedere non Potest.
You can read more about Lt. Lawrence Reynolds in the Gleaner article at:
