LEICHT, Jacob Carl

The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Friday, June 04, 2010 Jacob Carl Leicht, son of Dr. Craig and Mrs. Shirly Leicht, recently of Prescott, Ariz., was born on July 4, 1985, at Lemoore Naval Air Station Hospital in Lemoore, Calif., joining a family rich in military tradition. It came as no surprise, then, when Jacob expressed interest in becoming a Marine from the time he could talk. Following high school, Jacob was awarded a full Navy ROTC scholarship at the University of Texas, Austin, after which he would be commissioned as an officer. However, in a move that epitomized Jacob's desire to serve, he turned down the scholarship to join the Marines as an enlisted man. Jacob saw his dream become reality when, following boot camp and further training, he deployed to Iraq in the spring of 2007. Jacob had been in Iraq for only a few weeks, serving in the Anbar Province, when the humvee Jacob was driving was hit by an IED. Jacob's right leg was seriously injured, and he was immediately flown to Landstuhl, Germany, for emergency surgery. Jacob was then transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, for an additional 18 surgeries in an attempt to save his leg. Following the last successful surgery, Jacob spent the next two years in intense rehab in an effort to be reinstated to active duty, which he achieved in the fall of 2009. In January 2010, Jacob married his wife Leslie Garcia, of Kerrville, Texas, and the newlyweds moved into military housing at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Cpl. Leicht, USMC, deployed to the Helmuth River Valley area of Afghanistan late April 2010 with the 1st Marine Div, 1st LAR Battalion. After being in the country for less than a month, Jacob was killed in action on May 27, 2010 - the one-thousandth casualty in the Afghan Theatre. Jacob is survived by his wife, Leslie Garcia Leicht; his parents, Craig and Shirly Leicht of Prescott, Ariz.; and five siblings, brother Jonathan Leicht and family of Kerrville, Texas; sister Elizabeth Leicht-Chapa and family of Florham Park, N.J.; brother Jesse Leicht; sisters Mary Rose and Sarah Grace Leicht of Kerrville, Texas; and numerous uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews residing in Texas and California. The family requests that donations be made in Jacob's honor to the Semper Fi Foundation at www.SemperFiFund.org or 210-916-5629, Attn: Kimberly McConnell. The family also requests that you continue to support and pray for those in harm's way, especially for Jacob's unit, the 1st Marine Div., 1st LAR Battalion, currently still deployed in Afghanistan. His battalion will have a memorial service for Jacob at Camp Pendleton upon their return. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, June 4, 2010, at Grimes Funeral Chapels in Kerrville, Texas. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 5, at Impact Christian Fellowship, Goat Creek Road, Kerrville, Texas; interment with full military honors to follow at Garden of Memories Cemetery on Fredericksburg Road in Kerrville. "Greater love has no one than this - that one lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13 Condolences may be sent at www.grimesfuneralchapels.com by selecting the "Send Condolences" link. Funeral arrangements are entrusted to Grimes Funeral Chapels of Kerrville. Information provided by survivors.