Bel Air Mom Struggles to Cope With Loss of Son in Iraq

Lance Cpl. Patrick Adle was awarded a Purple Heart for his service in Iraq. (Photo courtesy of Renee Cooper)

By Melanie Lo
Maryland Newsline
Tuesday, April 26, 2005

For Pamela Adle-Watts, the last 10 months have been a struggle to cope with the death of her youngest son, Lance Cpl. Patrick Ryan Adle, a Marine killed south of Baghdad June 29.

He would have turned 22 on March 8.

Adle-Watts and her husband spent his birthday this year visiting his grave at Arlington National Cemetery.

“It was hard,” the Bel Air, Md., resident said quietly.

Since her son’s death, Adle-Watts has tried several methods to cope with her loss. She has spoken with two grief and recovery support groups, and with a private counselor.

“It’s good to talk about it sometimes,” Adle-Watts said.

She has found the most solace in her faith.

“I have a good faith,” she said. “Pat and I – the whole family – [have] a good, solid faith.

“I knew that even before I buried him that there would be a resurrection. I would see him again, but it would just take time,” she said.

The Marines

Adle, a heavy equipment operator, was assigned to the 6^th Engineer Support Division in the Marines, 4^th Force Service Support Group.

Last June, during his second tour in Iraq, the Humvee in which he was riding struck a land mine. He was part of a convoy escorting an ambulance out of hostile action in southeast Baghdad, a Marine Corps spokesman said.

Adle and two other Marines were killed in the explosion.

“He believed he was doing the right thing. He wanted to be there serving his country,” said his cousin, Cpl. Joshua Tackett, who served in the same battalion with Adle during his first tour in Iraq, from March to May 2003.

Adle-Watts remembers the initial shock she felt when her son told her he wanted to enlist as a Marine Corps reservist. Just three months into his senior year at Fallston High School, Adle had made the decision the Marine Corps was for him.

“Pat came to us in November before he had turned 18 and begged me to sign him up,” Adle-Watts said. “But I said that is a decision you should make on your own when you’re 18.”

Though Adle-Watts and her husband were hesitant at first to allow their son to enlist in the Reserve Forces, it became a reality on his 18^th birthday, in March 2001.

“Patrick is my baby,” Adle-Watts said. She has an older son, Michael Adle Jr. “[Patrick] came home March 8, saying ‘Mom, I’m signed up!’ and from then on we supported him wholeheartedly.”

She added: “He supported the president and supported the war. He volunteered to go.”

After completing a semester at Harford Community College, Adle was called to duty. He reported to Parris Island, S.C., in early 2002 for basic training and to await first deployment.

“He loved it. He lived, breathed and slept the Marines,” said family friend and former girlfriend Renee Cooper.

“[Pat] thought that they wouldn’t have a war,” Adle-Watts said. “But … 9/11 happened, and that changed everything. From then on, it wouldn’t be just ‘one weekend a month and two weeks a year.’ He would have to go to war.”

Added Cooper: “We were terrified when he told us he was leaving. But he wasn’t scared one bit.”

In Honor of the Fallen

Patrick Adle (second from right) having fun last year at a Myrtle Beach, S.C., bar. With him, from left, are: Matt Kyle, Steve Rynn and Matt Cooper. (Photo courtesy of Renee Cooper)

Adle left a lasting impression on those he encountered in high school. Dave Cesky, a football coach and physical education teacher at Fallston High School, described him as enthusiastic and unselfish.

“The biggest thing about Pat was his smile and his positive attitude,” Cesky said. “He was loved by everyone.”

In honor of the fallen alum, Fallston High School retired his football jersey, No. 4, at the homecoming game last fall.  

Five of his closest friends also established the Lance Cpl. Patrick Ryan Adle Memorial Scholarship Fund for Fallston High School students with plans for higher education. His parents have been major contributors. At least one scholarship will be given out this year for the first time, said Kelly Gettier, a member of the scholarship fund committee and a close friend to Adle.

Gettier kept in contact with Adle while he was on tour in Iraq. They corresponded frequently through letters, phone calls and e-mails. She does not recall any negative comments from him about his experiences there.

“He always said that the news coverage over here didn’t cover enough about how happy the Iraqi civilians were that they were there. The news focused more on the negative, and he wished they would focus more on the positive,” she said.

“He talked a lot about the weather, and in his e-mails he would write, ‘But enough about that, I don’t want you to worry.’ That’s just how nice he was. He didn’t want anyone to worry about him,” Gettier said.

The 'Fallston Eight'           

Nearly four years after enlisting with the Marine Corps Reserve Forces, Adle’s friend, Mark Yosua, will graduate in May from Salisbury University on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Following his graduation, he will attend Officer Candidates School and is anticipating a possible tour in Iraq.

“I’m definitely going over sometime,” Yosua said. “I definitely don’t want to go over, but it’s what we have to do.”

Yosua and Adle were among eight 2001 Fallston High School graduates who enlisted in the military.

Yosua’s father called him last year with the tragic news of Adle’s death. The news left Yosua shocked and speechless. “My girlfriend was with me. I couldn’t even tell her what was going on,” he said.

Scott Yosua tries to remain optimistic about his son’s service to the military. “I’m concerned about him going to Iraq, but we’re proud of him,” he said.

Scott Yosua also recognizes that Adle’s death may have been an awakening for his son.

“Patrick’s death made him realize that it could happen to another friend, or even himself,” he said.

Copyright © 2005 University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism