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May 29th, 2010


Texan is GI Death No. 1,000 in Afghan War

‘He always wanted to die for his country,’ brother says

Image: Brothers of Jacob Leicht
Jonathan Leicht, left, and Jesse Leicht pose with a photo of their brother, Marine Cpl. Jacob Leicht, Saturday, May 29, 2010 in Kerrville, Texas. Their brother was killed while on patrol in Afghanistan on Thursday, May 27, making him the 1,000th U.S. serviceman killed in the Afghan conflict. (Photo credit: Eric Gay / AP)

By Paul J. Weber

May 29, 2010

KERRVILLE, Texas — The 1,000th American serviceman 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 written letters 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.

An Associated Press tally shows Leicht is the 1,000th U.S. serviceman killed in the Afghan conflict. The first death — nearly nine years ago — was also a soldier from the San Antonio area.

“He said he always wanted to die for his country and be remembered,” said Jesse Leicht, his younger brother. “He didn’t want to die having a heart attack or just being an old man. He wanted to die for something.”

The AP bases its tally on Defense Department reports of deaths suffered as a direct result of the Afghan conflict, including personnel assigned to units in Afghanistan, Pakistan or Uzbekistan.

Other news organizations count deaths suffered by service members assigned elsewhere as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, which includes operations in the Philippines, the Horn of Africa and at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. …

Jacob Leicht [was] 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. …

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,” Jesse Leicht said, “he got the word.”

——

Related report on this site

Grim Milestone in Afghanistan (Feb. 24, 2010)

——

FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — May 29, 2009

Iraq: May Deadliest in 8 Months

One year ago today, I reported that with at least 24 U.S. service members dead, May 2009 was the deadliest month for American forces in Iraq since September 2008, when 25 died.





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