People living in Alabama and Mississippi were shocked to learn on January 7-8 that a father, Lam Luong, age 37, had done the unthinkable. The saga started on January 7, 2008 when Lam called police and told them his four children had been kidnapped. As the story unfolded through the night, the horrible truth was finally revealed when Lam confessed that he had thrown his four children, Ryan (age 3), Hannah (age 2), Lindsey (age 1) and Danny (4 months) off the Dauphin Island Bridge.
Mobile County Sheriff's Flotilla began searching the waters between the bridge and Cedar Point but was unable to find any sign of the children. It took a total of 2 weeks to actually recover the bodies of the children because of weather and water currents. At this time, the father is facing 4 counts of capital murder and awaiting trial.
The event itself and the aftereffects of the event have forever changed the Gulf Coast. The community came together in ways that shocked veteran newscasters. There were vigils held, in which the mother of the four victims attended being held up by other family members. Literally hundreds came out in freezing weather to pray, comfort each other. Most were complete strangers that had been brought together by a senseless act of pure evil.
There are talks of putting up a memorial to remember the four children in Bayou La Batre, Mississippi. The city council has already agreed to it and now only need to set a design.
These four angels left the world too soon. Some people find comfort in knowing the children died together, others find comfort in knowing that their bodies have been found and their funerals will bring some sort of closure to the mother. However one finds comfort in the face of hardship is known to only a few. We can continue to bond together, we can keep our eyes and ears open so another tragedy like this never happens again. We can get closer to our own families because we never know when something within a family will require a close tight knit connection.
Just like September 11th brought out patriotism and a sense of a deeper love amongst family and friends, this tragedy will bring the Gulf Coast together. It is unfortunate that a tragedy had to occur in order for the Gulf Coast pulls together, but it up to the Gulf Coast to make sure these little angel's deaths were not in vain.
