SGT Pyeatt



SGT Lucas Pyeatt, with his parents, Cindy and Scott, the night he deployed



Memorial for SGT Pyeatt in Afghanistan

Lucas Todd Pyeatt

5 Mar 1986 - 5 Feb 2011

Please keep the entire Pyeatt family in your prayers, including his parents, Scott and Cindy, his sister Emily, her husband and 2 small children.

I never had the opportunity to meet Luke but if his family's faith and compassion are any indication, he must have been an amazing man. His father's faith in God during this extremely difficult time has been personally inspiring. Through the death of his son he has continued to pray and show concern for all of Charlie Co. that is still currently deployed. I would hope if faced with the same circumstances I could have such strong faith in the Lord and show the same grace to be able to see through my own grief and pray for others. I would also hope that others would be able to see Jesus in me, the same way that I've seen him in the Pyeatt family.

This article was copied from The Journal News, Hamilton, OH. Lucas Pyeatt was postumously promoted to the rank of Sergeant.

Journal News Article

WEST CHESTER TWP. — A local Marine serving in Afghanistan called home and talked to his parents just three days before he was killed in action, his sister said Monday.
Cpl. Lucas T. Pyeatt, 24, was killed early Saturday while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
Pyeatt was killed only a couple of weeks after his Jan. 24 deployment to Regional Command South West at Camp Leatherneck, said Camp Lejeune spokeswoman Cpl. Katherine Keleher. That was his only deployment since he enlisted in April 2007, she said.
“I think he knew. I think he knew it was going to be dangerous,” said his sister Emily Smalley, 26, who spoke Monday from her parents’ home in West Chester Twp.
“Nobody had a better son or brother,” Smalley said. “He felt it was his duty to serve. It was his honor. We’re proud of him.”
Pyeatt graduated in 2004 from a high school in Newport News, Va., the same year his family relocated to West Chester Twp., Smalley said.
Pyeatt was a member of the 2nd Radio Battalion, II Marine Expeditionary Force in Camp Lejeune, N.C., according to the DOD. Pyeatt was trained as a cyrptologic linguist in both Pashto and Russian. Pashto is the native language of the Pashtun people in Afghanistan.
He was responsible to be fluent in the practiced language, and to translate, monitor and transcript, Keleher said. His personal awards include Good Conduct Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and National Defense Medal, according to Keleher.
Described as a self-taught musician who played in the orchestra, he loved classical music as well as guitarist Dave Matthews, his sister said. In middle school, he taught himself sign language to communicate with a deaf classmate, who was his close friend.
“He always stood up for the underdog. He cared about people. He was always willing to help out when anyone needed him,” Smalley said.
After serving on a mission to St. Petersburg, Russia, with members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Pyeatt joined the Marines, fulfilling a lifelong dream of following in his father’s footsteps to become a member of the military, Smalley said. Pyeatt’s father, Scott, retired from a career with the U.S. Air Force.
“He always said he wanted to be in the military ... He joined as soon as he could,” she said.
Nearing the end of his fifth year in the Marines, Smalley said her brother had his sights set on becoming a Navy SEAL.
He is survived by his parents Cindy and Scott Pyeatt, who learned of their son’s death Saturday morning, Smalley said.