3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division dedicates building to Cpl. Jacob R. Fleischer

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii - The 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team dedicated the historic and newly renovated building 452 in Quad D, Schofield Barracks to the memory of Cpl. Jacob R. Fleischer, May 16, 2022.

Fleischer was assigned to the Bronco Brigade when he was killed in action during Operation Enduring Freedom after an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee in Deh Rawod, Afghanistan, Nov. 24, 2004.

His father, retired Col. Harold C. Fleischer, III, his mom, Jane Fleischer, and brother, Kurt Fleischer, all attended the memorial dedication ceremony and each shared fond memories of Jacob.

Fleischer, III, read Jacob’s biography, detailed a vignette of Jacob’s life while deployed, and shared a story of how Jacob fought through an ankle injury to graduate from the Army’s airborne school.

“What I saw in Jacob was willpower borne from his own innate qualities reinforced with his training as an infantryman and paratrooper that would make him keep fighting for himself and his buddies in spite of wounds as long as it was physically possible,” said Fleischer, III. “Jacob was now a true infantryman in the U.S. Army. For me, it was one less worry.”

Jane shared a letter inscribed in a journal that she penned to Jacob after he died. It told the moments of learning of his death and the gut-wrenching emotions only a parent that has lost a child could know. The collective audience could feel her sorrow as she recounted the memory of losing her son.

Kurt brought his brother to life by sharing accounts of who Jacob was as an individual. He told stories of his brother’s music preferences, his appetite for reading, and his kind good-natured spirit.

Col. Josh Bookout, the 3IBCT commander, reinforced why remembering the fallen is a tangible demonstration of the culture of an organization.

“Memorializing this building in Jacob’s name is the realization of what the Bronco Brigade is all about,” said Bookout. “We talk about treating each other like family, and the way we remember our fallen is just one way we do that. Jacob’s life deserves to be remembered, and we are honored we can do this for him.”

During the ceremony, the Fleischer family unveiled a bronze plaque that is affixed to the exterior of the building to serve as the first reminder of Jacob’s life and service to this nation. The second reminder are portraits of Fleischer hanging throughout each floor so current and future Soldiers never forget the building’s namesake.

The Cpl. Jacob R. Fleischer Memorial Building will serve as the new headquarters building for companies assigned to the 29th Brigade Engineer Battalion and the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 3IBCT.