Army Sgt. Jacob S. Schmuecker

Army Sgt. Jacob S. Schmuecker

27, of Atkinson, Neb.; assigned to the 755th Recon/Decon Company, Nebraska Army National Guard, O’Neill, Neb.; died July 21 in Balad, Iraq, of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device.

Norfolk soldier killed in Iraq

By Oskar Garcia
The Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. — A 27-year-old Nebraska Army National Guard member died this weekend in Iraq, family and Army officials said July 23.

Sgt. Jacob Schmuecker of Norfolk died July 21 in a roadside bomb explosion in Balad, Iraq, the Nebraska Army National Guard confirmed.

“He liked to be the ramrod of the crew,” his mother Patty Schmuecker said, referring to her son’s relationship with his six younger siblings. Schmuecker also had an older sister.

She said her son would always tell one of his brothers, a fellow National Guardsman, to iron his uniform and polish his boots.

Schmuecker was 10 months into in his first tour of duty with the Guard’s 755th Chemical Company, based in O’Neill. He was scheduled to return to the U.S. in December, Patty Schmuecker said from her home in Atkinson.

Schmuecker and his wife, Lisa, have three children ranging in age from 4 years to 19 months.

Schmuecker served in the same company as William Bailey III of Bellevue, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in May.

“He was very concerned that something would happen to one of his soldiers,” his mother said, adding that her son prayed that if one of his company had to die, for it to be him instead of a comrade.

“I guess I feel like God honored that prayer,” she said.

Details of a funeral service were still pending, but Patty Schmuecker said it would likely be in Norfolk.

Schmuecker graduated from West Holt High School in Atkinson in 1999. He joined the National Guard in 2001.

Schmuecker is the 53rd U.S. service member with Nebraska connections to die in Afghanistan or Iraq since the start of military operations following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S., according to the Department of Defense and family members.

What can I say about a man who gave his life for his country? No words can be enough.
His actions spoke louder than any words. His sacrifice was not in vain. He died for his fellow soldiers and the citizens of the USA. He also died for the Iraq people who want and seek freedom. Like so many others in this war he is easily overlooked as a statistic. We should note who these people are and how they died for our freedom. We can honor our fallen by going to http://www.militarycity.com/valor/2919061.html
and reading about our fallen military. We need to consider the cost and support our military. We need to speak out against those who disgrace our fallen heroes, especially those in congress. My thoughts, what do you think?