Marine Corps Veterans Bobby Lytle joined the service at just seventeen after getting his GED. He enlisted an Arkansas native in 1976 but received a medical discharge in 1977 for a bad knee. That wasn’t going to stop him from serving, though. He rehabbed that knee and joined the Army National Guard a year later! He served as a wireman until 1981 while working as a mechanic and auto technician in the civilian sector.
Then I let some friends talk me into doing some dumb stuff, and I robbed a fast food store and got caught. I served three years of a seven-year sentence. Obviously, I was out of the Guard after that.”
Mr. Lytle continued to live and work in Arkansas and did well for twenty years. “But in 2003, I caught a guy robbing my house, and I shot him. I was found guilty of second-degree murder. I got paroled in 2008 and went back to live with my mom on a property we owned jointly.”
My. Lytle and his mom’s relationship had already been rocky, but when he moved back, he found out that she had transferred the property into her name using a falsified quitclaim. “My temper has always been my problem. We got into an argument, she got physical, and I slapped her. She filed domestic violence charges, and back to prison, I went. I had to serve all of my previous sentence as well, so I was in about eleven years. I came to Saint Francis House in January 2021.”
“While I’ve been here, I went to the VA for chest pain. I hadn’t had a good experience with the VA in the past, but this time, thanks to St. Francis Hosue and the Day Treatment Center staff, everything went fine. “
Mr. Lytle will soon graduate from the St. Francis House program and move into his own place. “No sense me lyin’, I’ve done marijuana and alcohol and even a little cocaine, but I’m twelve years sober, and I’m not going to mess that up. I know who I am and what I am and, most importantly, whose I am, and that’s God’s. It’s been a good ride the last four months; I’ve made new friends, and we’ve had some fun. My grandmother quilted, and I lost her quilts over the years, but I got my quilt that a group of ladies made, and I’m looking forward to having a home-cooked meal, watching some TV, and not bothering anyone. And if I can help someone else, I will because so many people have helped me!”