Medal Of Honor Recipient To Speak To Inmates In Lake County
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Detainees at the Lake County (IL) Jail will get a visit on Friday from a local man who has received the military's highest decoration.
Retired Army Sgt. Allen Lynch will be talking to inmates in a training room of the jail at 11:15 a.m., as part of the jail's series, "Real People, Real Stories."
The now 71-year-old Lynch received the Medal of Honor in 1970 for saving the lives of three members of his unit in Vietnam.
Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran Jr knows Lynch personally; and invited him to speak in the hopes that his message of humility, honesty, and service leaves an impression on the detainees.
Curran says they should be able to relate to some of Lynch's story; such as how he didn't like himself, and suffered setbacks prior to that incident in 1967 in the Binh Dinh Province.
The detainees have a lot of time to think. Curran says about 100 of them have been waiting a year in the jail for their trials, and he hopes Lynch's story gives them something to think about.