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View Full Version : 1000th Afghan casualty was a Texas Marine



USNAviator
05-29-10, 07:56 PM
KERRVILLE, Texas – The 1,000th killed in Afghanistan had already fallen once to a hidden explosive, driving his Humvee over a bomb in Iraq in 2007. The blast punched the dashboard radio into his face and broke his leg in two places.

Marine Cpl. Jacob C. Leicht didn't survive his second encounter with a bomb this week. The death of the 24-year-old Texan born on the Fourth of July marks a grim milestone in the Afghanistan war.

Leicht, who spent two painful years recovering from the Iraq blast, was killed Thursday when he stepped on a land mine in Helmand province that ripped off his right arm. He had from his hospital bed begging to be put back on the front lines, and died less than a month into that desperately sought second tour.

When military officers went to tell Leicht's parents that their adopted son had died in combat, sheriff's deputies had to help navigate them to the 130-acre family ranch tucked impossibly deep in the Texas Hill Country.
It was here that Jacob Leicht chopped thick brush and hiked the rugged limestone peaks, growing up into an imposing 6-5, 200-pound Marine with a soft heart. He watched "Dora the Explorer" with his brother's children and confided to family that he was troubled by the thought of young civilians being killed in battle.

But for Leicht, born in a Lemoore, Calif., the battlefield was the destination. He threw away a college ROTC scholarship after just one semester because he feared it would lead away from the front lines.
"His greatest fear was that they would tell him he would have to sit at a desk for the duration," said Jonathan Leicht, his older brother.

When Jacob Leicht's wish finally came true, it didn't last long.
His first deployment was to Iraq in 2007, but he was there just three weeks when Jesse Leicht said his brother drove over two 500-pound bombs hidden beneath the road.

One detonated, the other didn't. The blast tore through the Humvee, shooting the radio into Leicht's face and knocking him unconscious. He felt something pinch his thumb, and the gunner's face was filleted so badly by shrapnel that medics couldn't keep water in his mouth.

None of the five people were inside the vehicle died. Jesse Leicht said an Iraqui interpreter, the only one on board who wasn't seriously injured, dragged his brother from the mangled vehicle. The blast snapped Jacob Leicht's fibula and tibula, and the recovery was an agonizing ordeal of pins and rods and bolts drilled into his bones.

But all Jacob Leicht could think about was going back. He launched a campaign for himself at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, writing letters and making phone calls about returning to combat. More than two years later, he was finally healthy enough to serve again.
Nine days before his brother stepped on a bomb in Afghanistan, Jesse Leicht enlisted in the Marines. Using Facebook to reach a friend stationed at a base not far from his brother, Jesse asked the soldier a favor: If you see Jacob, let him know I signed up like him."

Hopefully he got the message



RIP CPL Leicht on this Memorial Day weekend. Comfort to your family

hbharrison
05-29-10, 08:00 PM
R.I.P. Marine

Integrity57
05-29-10, 08:35 PM
I have to say I didn't like the tone of that article but regardless, rest easy Cpl, you will not be forgotten.

Sgt Jim
05-29-10, 08:41 PM
Rest In Peace Marine

USNAviator
05-29-10, 09:01 PM
I have to say I didn't like the tone of that article but regardless, rest easy Cpl, you will not be forgotten.

I would agree about the tone, it bothered me as well. I picked it up from the Wash Post, not exactly a Veteran friendly publication

Dan

xjrgjrgx
05-30-10, 12:27 AM
RIP Cpl. Thank you for your service, and sacrafice. Rah!

CQB0316
05-30-10, 12:30 AM
Rest in peace Marine.

firedog974
05-30-10, 12:57 AM
RIP Marine.

jetdawgg
05-30-10, 04:43 AM
Rip

Rocky C
05-30-10, 06:56 AM
RIP Marine..........

Semper Fi,
Rocky