Army Sgt. Jacob S. Schmuecker

Died July 21, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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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.

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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.

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Two Nebraskans killed in Iraq remembered at funerals

The Associated Press

Two Nebraskans who were killed by roadside bombs in Iraq this month were remembered July 30 at separate funerals in Bellevue and Norfolk.

The service and dedication of Nebraska Army National Guard Sgt. Jacob Schmuecker, 27, of Norfolk, and Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffrey Chaney, 35, of Omaha, were celebrated at the services.

Members of the Patriot Guard Riders attended both funerals to screen mourners from any Westboro Baptist Church protesters that showed up. Five members of the Topeka, Kan., based church did show up in Norfolk, but none was present at the Bellevue funeral.

Before Schmuecker’s funeral, his cousin Todd Crosby thanked the riders who showed up to help support his family.

He also thanked everyone for their love and support, and he said the family’s thoughts and prayers were with the soldiers still in Iraq.

“It is a sad and tragic circumstance to come together in this situation,” Crosby said. “The love and prayers we have gotten are what is getting us through this time.”

More than 125 Patriot Guard Riders attended the Norfolk funeral at the Community Bible Church. The rumble of their motorcycles drowned out the protesters’ singing.

The Westboro protesters carried signs with slogans such as “God Hates Nebraska” and “Too Late to Pray.”

Westboro Baptist Church says that troop deaths are God’s judgment against America for tolerating homosexuals. Church members have protested at other military funerals in Nebraska and across the nation.

Norfolk Mayor Gordon Adams complimented the Patriot Guard on his way into the funeral.

“The riders here are presenting a very dignified picture,” Adams said. “It’s very impressive.”

Schmuecker died 10 months into in his first tour in Iraq with the National Guard’s 755th Chemical Company, based in O’Neill.

Crosby said Schmuecker was “calm under pressure,” “a patriot of patriots” and, with a smile, “crazy at times.”

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

Schmuecker was the second-oldest of eight children in his family.

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

Dozens of members of the Patriot Guard Riders also lined the driveway and sidewalks outside the Bellevue Christian Center where Chaney’s funeral was held, but no protesters were present.

Chaney joined the Navy in 1993 and dreamed of becoming a SEAL. A problem with his eyesight derailed those plans, but his passion for the service led to a 14-year career in the Navy. He was a 1990 graduate of Bellevue West High School.

In Iraq, he served with the Navy’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal Mobile Unit 11, based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington state. He worked to disarm and dispose of explosives in Iraq’s Salahuddin province, north of Baghdad.

Chaney’s commander spoke about the positive attitude and outstanding leadership that he said Chaney exuded.

Navy Capt. Barr Coceano said Chaney had completed 48 bomb-defusing missions. The Navy recognized Chaney’s service posthumously with two of its highest honors: a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.

“He loved his job,” Coceano said. “He loved providing security to the people of Iraq. He did an outstanding job doing it.”

More than 200 people filled pews for Chaney’s funeral, including dozens of Navy personnel and other service members wearing dress uniforms.

At the front of the church, a poster showed Chaney with an American flag and the words, “Lest we forget.”