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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Words cannot adequately express the heartache felt |
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at the loss of U.S. Marine Corporal Jacob Carl Leicht of Kerrville, |
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who died on May 27, 2010, at the age of 24; and |
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WHEREAS, Assigned to the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance |
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Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force out |
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of Camp Pendleton, California, Corporal Leicht was serving his |
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second combat deployment in the Marines; and |
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WHEREAS, During his first deployment in Iraq in 2007, this |
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brave American was badly injured by a roadside bomb, and throughout |
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his two-and-a-half-year recovery at Brooke Army Medical Center in |
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San Antonio, he campaigned successfully to be allowed to return to |
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active duty; and |
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WHEREAS, A month into his second tour of duty, Corporal |
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Leicht was killed by a landmine while supporting combat operations |
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in Helmand Province in Afghanistan; he was the 1,000th American |
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service member to lose his life in the Afghan conflict; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in a naval hospital in Lemoore, California, on |
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July 4, 1985, Jacob Leicht grew up on a 130-acre ranch in the Texas |
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Hill Country, where he built up his strength as a young man by |
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chopping cedar and hiking the limestone ridges; a man of unswerving |
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patriotism, he rejected a full Navy ROTC scholarship at The |
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University of Texas at Austin for fear that he would not be assigned |
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to combat duty, and he enlisted in the Marines instead; and |
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WHEREAS, Corporal Leicht married the former Leslie Garcia in |
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January 2010, and they made their home at Camp Pendleton; a strong |
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man with a tender heart, he enjoyed watching the television show |
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Dora the Explorer with his brother's children; and |
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WHEREAS, Americans owe a profound debt to our nation's |
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servicemen and servicewomen, whose love for their country inspires |
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them to take up military service, and their dedicated efforts and |
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enormous sacrifices are deserving of their fellow citizens' deepest |
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respect and gratitude; and |
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WHEREAS, Exemplifying the highest ideals of the U.S. armed |
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forces, Jacob Leicht inspired others with his commitment, |
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leadership, and courage; although his death has left a void in the |
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lives of his loved ones, they will forever carry memories of this |
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heroic Texan close in their hearts; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Marine Corporal Jacob |
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Carl Leicht and extend deepest sympathy to the members of his |
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family: to his wife, Leslie Garcia Leicht; to his parents, Craig and |
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Shirly Leicht; to his brothers, Jonathan Leicht and Jesse Leicht; |
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to his sisters, Elizabeth Leicht-Chapa, Mary Rose Leicht, and Sarah |
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Grace Leicht; and to his other relatives and friends; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of U.S. Marine |
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Corporal Jacob Carl Leicht. |