FORT ATKINSON, WI, US
U.S. Marine Corps
LCPL, B CO, 1/3, RCT-7 (1/3, 3D MARDIV, MCBH KANEOHE BAY, HI)
01/10/2010, BASTION, AFGHANISTAN
Marine Lance Corporal Jacob Alexander Meinert was killed in combat support action on Sunday, January 10, 2010, in Bastion, Afghanistan. He was a radio telephone operator assigned to the First Battalion, Third Marine Regiment, Third Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force based at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. The unit was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Jacob joined the Marine Corps in July 2007, and reported to 1st Battalion in January 2008. He had previously deployed with the same battalion to Iraq, returning to Hawaii in March 2009. He was part of USMC Platoon 2167 graduates from the Marine Corps Recruitment Depot in San Diego, California. Jacob was a tall, lanky teen with an infectious smile and this is likely what motivated Jacob’s fellow Marines to nickname him “Slim”. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Hear; and had previously earned the National Defense Service medal, Global War on Terrorism Service medal and the Afghanistan and Iraq Campaign medals.
Jacob was born June 24, 1989, in Racine. He attended Red Apple Elementary School and Jerstad-Agerholm Middle School in Racine before moving to Fort Atkinson. Jacob graduated from Fort Atkinson High School in 2007. He enjoyed spending time with family and friends. He liked to fish, go sailing and enjoyed a variety of musical outlets which included playing trombone in his high school’s marching, concert, pep and jazz bands. He enjoyed attending rock concerts and was also a member of the school’s chess club. He is remembered by family as an adventurous, fearless, full-of-gusto guy who loved the water.
But Jacob’s connection to family is demonstrated by his actions just prior to deploying to Afghanistan
Standing in front of a mirror, and wearing a “Jay and Silent Bob” T-shirt, he snapped a picture of himself. In one hand he held a note, written backwards. In the other hand he held a digital camera, a Christmas present for his brother back in Wisconsin. He sent the camera, and the picture, with the rest of his personal belongings, back home to his family in Fort Atkinson, just before he shipped out to Afghanistan. His note also said: “I LOVE YOU AND I WILL MISS YOU ALL!!”
Besides many friends, Jacob leaves behind his mother, sister, step-brother, brother, father, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and the family dog, Bosco. He was wise and accurate when he wrote before joining the Marines that he would “not be reading history…he’d be making it. “