Slay

James A. Slay, 36, serving with the U.S. Coast Guard, graduated from Lakota High School in 1983. He is the son of James B. and Irene Slay of West Chester.

In a call last Sunday from Bahrain, James A. Slay assured his parents he was doing fine.

"He doesn't know what's next," Slay's father said.

"He just wanted to let us know that he was all right."

An electronic technician, the younger Slay has been in the Coast Guard since 1989. Before the invasion of Iraq, he was stationed in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Earlier this year he returned to Camp LeJeune for heavy training and then Norfolk for advanced training before being shipped out to participate in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Approximately 650 Coast Guard men and women are providing force protection and port security in the Persian Gulf.

His mother said that since they lost their daughter in 1980, Slay worries about his how family would cope in the event of his death.

"The last thing he said to us was 'Don't worry. If anything happens to me, remember me the way I was.' "

Slay's parents haven't seen him in more than a year but heard from him in late February when he told his dad, a Korean vet, that he was in Bahrain. Slay has a brother, Alvin, who lives in Middletown.

His family asks for prayers for his safety.

Rebecca Goodman