The Daily Oklahoman
11-14-1999
p.25
Two Teens Drown in City Lake
Oklahoma City police recovered the bodies of two youths who apparently drowned early Saturday while attempting to swim across a neck of Lake Stanley Draper in southeast Oklahoma City.
The boys were with four other companions, police Lt Brian Jennings said.
The victims were identified as Anthony Lam and Robert Lloyd, both 17.
Their bodies were found before noon Saturday, following a search that began just after midnight when the accident was reported to police.
They were found in the water some distance from each other, Jennings said.
Jennings said members of the group called police after swimming the 200 yard width of the lake. They returned to their vehicle and discovered that Lam and Lloyd did not return, Jennings said.
Jennings said both youths appeared to have drowned.
***********************
The Daily Oklahoman
11-15-1999
p.5
Friends Drown While Playing War Games
Anthony Lam wanted to be like his father and serve his country in the military. His father, Kiet Lam, was a captain in the South Vietnamese Army. He escaped Saigon in 1975.
Anthony and his best friend, Robert Lloyd III, both U.S. Grant High School students, planned to join the Marines after graduating next spring. Both wanted to train in San Diego and Anthony had already enlisted, said their school instructor and former Marine, retired Maj. Dennis Weber.
Both were also known as student leaders at Grant in south Oklahoma City.
Today, students and teachers will arrive for classes without the 17 year-old seniors. Both drowned trying to swim across an inlet at Lake Stanley Draper late Friday.
Anthony was wearing fatigues and camouflage makeup on his face when his body was recovered from the lake Saturday, said his sister Kim Lam, 27. The boys often practiced war-game tactics.
"I taught my son the importance of fighting for freedom," Kiet Lam said Sunday. Kiet Lam met his wife, Danh Pham, at a refugee camp in Thailand. The couple made it to Oklahoma City in 1981. "He wanted to be a Marine," Kiet Lam said.
Anthony was the executive officer and Robert was the battalion commander of the Grant Junior ROTC unit. Both held the title of captain. Both were popular and well respected, Weber said.
Extra counselors may be at the school today for grieving students, school district spokeswoman, Cynthia Reid said.
Police said the boys were with four friends when all six decided to try and swim across a 200-yard cove on Draper Lake in southeast Oklahoma City.
"They weren't the best of swimmers," Nina Davis, Robert's mother, said Sunday.
Davis said the group of boys was hiking at the lake when the saw headlights across an inlet near where they had parked their pickups. The boys decided to swim the inlet, which is on the far northwest corner of the lake near SE 89, because it was the quickest route to the pickups, she said. Davis recalled how her only son taught Anthony how to ride a motorcycle during their four year friendship.
Costly Mistake
One JROTC member who was with them during the fatal swim, Jared Hunter, 18, said the group went hiking Friday evening and decided to swim the lake about 11 p.m. "We just all liked to hike," said Hunter, a JROTC sergeant major. No one in the group was drinking or partying. "All we had out there were canteens full of water." Hunter said he was the first to make it across the inlet. "I heard one of the boys say to Tony (Anthony), "Tony if you can't make it turn back to shore!" Hunter said. He didn't see or hear anything from Robert during the swim, Hunter said. The boys said they were too cold to get back into the 54 degree water to search for the missing pair. The air temperature was 55.
"When I got out of the water, I had hypothermia setting in," hunter said. When they got out, they went to the nearest fire station to get help. "I think this is a major tragedy. We all made a bad choice and it has cost us two of our friends. Everyone of us made a bad choice," Hunter said.
The friends thought the boys had made it across and were somewhere in the woods. Police and other rescuers began a seaarch early Saturday.
"We were looking in the woods and in the water before their bodies were found. Their friends thought they might have made it to their cars at first," police spokesman Lt Brian Jennings said. The boys' bodies were found between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Saturday by a firefighter dive team.
Robert's funeral will be at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Baggerly Funeral Home South Chapel, at 5708 S. Western Ave.
Anthony will be cremated today, and a service will be at 1:30 p.m. at Resthaven Funeral Home, at 500 SW 104.
Anthony LAM FAG-#61554708
11-14-1999
p.25
Two Teens Drown in City Lake
Oklahoma City police recovered the bodies of two youths who apparently drowned early Saturday while attempting to swim across a neck of Lake Stanley Draper in southeast Oklahoma City.
The boys were with four other companions, police Lt Brian Jennings said.
The victims were identified as Anthony Lam and Robert Lloyd, both 17.
Their bodies were found before noon Saturday, following a search that began just after midnight when the accident was reported to police.
They were found in the water some distance from each other, Jennings said.
Jennings said members of the group called police after swimming the 200 yard width of the lake. They returned to their vehicle and discovered that Lam and Lloyd did not return, Jennings said.
Jennings said both youths appeared to have drowned.
***********************
The Daily Oklahoman
11-15-1999
p.5
Friends Drown While Playing War Games
Anthony Lam wanted to be like his father and serve his country in the military. His father, Kiet Lam, was a captain in the South Vietnamese Army. He escaped Saigon in 1975.
Anthony and his best friend, Robert Lloyd III, both U.S. Grant High School students, planned to join the Marines after graduating next spring. Both wanted to train in San Diego and Anthony had already enlisted, said their school instructor and former Marine, retired Maj. Dennis Weber.
Both were also known as student leaders at Grant in south Oklahoma City.
Today, students and teachers will arrive for classes without the 17 year-old seniors. Both drowned trying to swim across an inlet at Lake Stanley Draper late Friday.
Anthony was wearing fatigues and camouflage makeup on his face when his body was recovered from the lake Saturday, said his sister Kim Lam, 27. The boys often practiced war-game tactics.
"I taught my son the importance of fighting for freedom," Kiet Lam said Sunday. Kiet Lam met his wife, Danh Pham, at a refugee camp in Thailand. The couple made it to Oklahoma City in 1981. "He wanted to be a Marine," Kiet Lam said.
Anthony was the executive officer and Robert was the battalion commander of the Grant Junior ROTC unit. Both held the title of captain. Both were popular and well respected, Weber said.
Extra counselors may be at the school today for grieving students, school district spokeswoman, Cynthia Reid said.
Police said the boys were with four friends when all six decided to try and swim across a 200-yard cove on Draper Lake in southeast Oklahoma City.
"They weren't the best of swimmers," Nina Davis, Robert's mother, said Sunday.
Davis said the group of boys was hiking at the lake when the saw headlights across an inlet near where they had parked their pickups. The boys decided to swim the inlet, which is on the far northwest corner of the lake near SE 89, because it was the quickest route to the pickups, she said. Davis recalled how her only son taught Anthony how to ride a motorcycle during their four year friendship.
Costly Mistake
One JROTC member who was with them during the fatal swim, Jared Hunter, 18, said the group went hiking Friday evening and decided to swim the lake about 11 p.m. "We just all liked to hike," said Hunter, a JROTC sergeant major. No one in the group was drinking or partying. "All we had out there were canteens full of water." Hunter said he was the first to make it across the inlet. "I heard one of the boys say to Tony (Anthony), "Tony if you can't make it turn back to shore!" Hunter said. He didn't see or hear anything from Robert during the swim, Hunter said. The boys said they were too cold to get back into the 54 degree water to search for the missing pair. The air temperature was 55.
"When I got out of the water, I had hypothermia setting in," hunter said. When they got out, they went to the nearest fire station to get help. "I think this is a major tragedy. We all made a bad choice and it has cost us two of our friends. Everyone of us made a bad choice," Hunter said.
The friends thought the boys had made it across and were somewhere in the woods. Police and other rescuers began a seaarch early Saturday.
"We were looking in the woods and in the water before their bodies were found. Their friends thought they might have made it to their cars at first," police spokesman Lt Brian Jennings said. The boys' bodies were found between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Saturday by a firefighter dive team.
Robert's funeral will be at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Baggerly Funeral Home South Chapel, at 5708 S. Western Ave.
Anthony will be cremated today, and a service will be at 1:30 p.m. at Resthaven Funeral Home, at 500 SW 104.
Anthony LAM FAG-#61554708
The Daily Oklahoman
11-14-1999
p.25
Two Teens Drown in City Lake
Oklahoma City police recovered the bodies of two youths who apparently drowned early Saturday while attempting to swim across a neck of Lake Stanley Draper in southeast Oklahoma City.
The boys were with four other companions, police Lt Brian Jennings said.
The victims were identified as Anthony Lam and Robert Lloyd, both 17.
Their bodies were found before noon Saturday, following a search that began just after midnight when the accident was reported to police.
They were found in the water some distance from each other, Jennings said.
Jennings said members of the group called police after swimming the 200 yard width of the lake. They returned to their vehicle and discovered that Lam and Lloyd did not return, Jennings said.
Jennings said both youths appeared to have drowned.
***********************
The Daily Oklahoman
11-15-1999
p.5
Friends Drown While Playing War Games
Anthony Lam wanted to be like his father and serve his country in the military. His father, Kiet Lam, was a captain in the South Vietnamese Army. He escaped Saigon in 1975.
Anthony and his best friend, Robert Lloyd III, both U.S. Grant High School students, planned to join the Marines after graduating next spring. Both wanted to train in San Diego and Anthony had already enlisted, said their school instructor and former Marine, retired Maj. Dennis Weber.
Both were also known as student leaders at Grant in south Oklahoma City.
Today, students and teachers will arrive for classes without the 17 year-old seniors. Both drowned trying to swim across an inlet at Lake Stanley Draper late Friday.
Anthony was wearing fatigues and camouflage makeup on his face when his body was recovered from the lake Saturday, said his sister Kim Lam, 27. The boys often practiced war-game tactics.
"I taught my son the importance of fighting for freedom," Kiet Lam said Sunday. Kiet Lam met his wife, Danh Pham, at a refugee camp in Thailand. The couple made it to Oklahoma City in 1981. "He wanted to be a Marine," Kiet Lam said.
Anthony was the executive officer and Robert was the battalion commander of the Grant Junior ROTC unit. Both held the title of captain. Both were popular and well respected, Weber said.
Extra counselors may be at the school today for grieving students, school district spokeswoman, Cynthia Reid said.
Police said the boys were with four friends when all six decided to try and swim across a 200-yard cove on Draper Lake in southeast Oklahoma City.
"They weren't the best of swimmers," Nina Davis, Robert's mother, said Sunday.
Davis said the group of boys was hiking at the lake when the saw headlights across an inlet near where they had parked their pickups. The boys decided to swim the inlet, which is on the far northwest corner of the lake near SE 89, because it was the quickest route to the pickups, she said. Davis recalled how her only son taught Anthony how to ride a motorcycle during their four year friendship.
Costly Mistake
One JROTC member who was with them during the fatal swim, Jared Hunter, 18, said the group went hiking Friday evening and decided to swim the lake about 11 p.m. "We just all liked to hike," said Hunter, a JROTC sergeant major. No one in the group was drinking or partying. "All we had out there were canteens full of water." Hunter said he was the first to make it across the inlet. "I heard one of the boys say to Tony (Anthony), "Tony if you can't make it turn back to shore!" Hunter said. He didn't see or hear anything from Robert during the swim, Hunter said. The boys said they were too cold to get back into the 54 degree water to search for the missing pair. The air temperature was 55.
"When I got out of the water, I had hypothermia setting in," hunter said. When they got out, they went to the nearest fire station to get help. "I think this is a major tragedy. We all made a bad choice and it has cost us two of our friends. Everyone of us made a bad choice," Hunter said.
The friends thought the boys had made it across and were somewhere in the woods. Police and other rescuers began a seaarch early Saturday.
"We were looking in the woods and in the water before their bodies were found. Their friends thought they might have made it to their cars at first," police spokesman Lt Brian Jennings said. The boys' bodies were found between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Saturday by a firefighter dive team.
Robert's funeral will be at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Baggerly Funeral Home South Chapel, at 5708 S. Western Ave.
Anthony will be cremated today, and a service will be at 1:30 p.m. at Resthaven Funeral Home, at 500 SW 104.
Anthony LAM FAG-#61554708
11-14-1999
p.25
Two Teens Drown in City Lake
Oklahoma City police recovered the bodies of two youths who apparently drowned early Saturday while attempting to swim across a neck of Lake Stanley Draper in southeast Oklahoma City.
The boys were with four other companions, police Lt Brian Jennings said.
The victims were identified as Anthony Lam and Robert Lloyd, both 17.
Their bodies were found before noon Saturday, following a search that began just after midnight when the accident was reported to police.
They were found in the water some distance from each other, Jennings said.
Jennings said members of the group called police after swimming the 200 yard width of the lake. They returned to their vehicle and discovered that Lam and Lloyd did not return, Jennings said.
Jennings said both youths appeared to have drowned.
***********************
The Daily Oklahoman
11-15-1999
p.5
Friends Drown While Playing War Games
Anthony Lam wanted to be like his father and serve his country in the military. His father, Kiet Lam, was a captain in the South Vietnamese Army. He escaped Saigon in 1975.
Anthony and his best friend, Robert Lloyd III, both U.S. Grant High School students, planned to join the Marines after graduating next spring. Both wanted to train in San Diego and Anthony had already enlisted, said their school instructor and former Marine, retired Maj. Dennis Weber.
Both were also known as student leaders at Grant in south Oklahoma City.
Today, students and teachers will arrive for classes without the 17 year-old seniors. Both drowned trying to swim across an inlet at Lake Stanley Draper late Friday.
Anthony was wearing fatigues and camouflage makeup on his face when his body was recovered from the lake Saturday, said his sister Kim Lam, 27. The boys often practiced war-game tactics.
"I taught my son the importance of fighting for freedom," Kiet Lam said Sunday. Kiet Lam met his wife, Danh Pham, at a refugee camp in Thailand. The couple made it to Oklahoma City in 1981. "He wanted to be a Marine," Kiet Lam said.
Anthony was the executive officer and Robert was the battalion commander of the Grant Junior ROTC unit. Both held the title of captain. Both were popular and well respected, Weber said.
Extra counselors may be at the school today for grieving students, school district spokeswoman, Cynthia Reid said.
Police said the boys were with four friends when all six decided to try and swim across a 200-yard cove on Draper Lake in southeast Oklahoma City.
"They weren't the best of swimmers," Nina Davis, Robert's mother, said Sunday.
Davis said the group of boys was hiking at the lake when the saw headlights across an inlet near where they had parked their pickups. The boys decided to swim the inlet, which is on the far northwest corner of the lake near SE 89, because it was the quickest route to the pickups, she said. Davis recalled how her only son taught Anthony how to ride a motorcycle during their four year friendship.
Costly Mistake
One JROTC member who was with them during the fatal swim, Jared Hunter, 18, said the group went hiking Friday evening and decided to swim the lake about 11 p.m. "We just all liked to hike," said Hunter, a JROTC sergeant major. No one in the group was drinking or partying. "All we had out there were canteens full of water." Hunter said he was the first to make it across the inlet. "I heard one of the boys say to Tony (Anthony), "Tony if you can't make it turn back to shore!" Hunter said. He didn't see or hear anything from Robert during the swim, Hunter said. The boys said they were too cold to get back into the 54 degree water to search for the missing pair. The air temperature was 55.
"When I got out of the water, I had hypothermia setting in," hunter said. When they got out, they went to the nearest fire station to get help. "I think this is a major tragedy. We all made a bad choice and it has cost us two of our friends. Everyone of us made a bad choice," Hunter said.
The friends thought the boys had made it across and were somewhere in the woods. Police and other rescuers began a seaarch early Saturday.
"We were looking in the woods and in the water before their bodies were found. Their friends thought they might have made it to their cars at first," police spokesman Lt Brian Jennings said. The boys' bodies were found between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Saturday by a firefighter dive team.
Robert's funeral will be at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Baggerly Funeral Home South Chapel, at 5708 S. Western Ave.
Anthony will be cremated today, and a service will be at 1:30 p.m. at Resthaven Funeral Home, at 500 SW 104.
Anthony LAM FAG-#61554708
