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WALTER W. LEICHT

Command Sergeant Major Walter W. Leicht, Nov 22, 1924 - May 9, 2010.  

Walter was born in Carrington, North Dakota moving to Olympia in 1936. After graduating from Olympia High School, Walter joined the 82nd Airborne, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment (the Red Devils). In 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, Walter was critically wounded by mortar fire and told he would never walk again. Shortly thereafter, he walked out of his London hospital and rejoined the 508th PIR.

Following WWII, Walter was selected as part of Gen. Eisenhower's honor guard, served as Sergeant at Arms for the Reichsbank in Frankfurt, Germany, and became personal bodyguard to the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg. After the Korean Conflict, Walter joined Army Intelligence as an investigator and linguistics/language expert in 1956. In 1960 he became Command Sergeant Major of the Counter Intelligence Corp, 113th Intelligence Group, 5th Army Headquarters, Chicago, Illinois. Walter, out of all his numerous medals and honors awarded him, coveted his Purple Heart and his Bronze Star above all others.

Even though he loved the military, it came second to the love of his wife and his family, and in 1963 Walter retired from military service and moved to Puyallup. Here, he made a home for his family and began a new career with the USPS in Tacoma. After 22 years with the Postal Service, he retired as Tour Superintendent of Mails in 1986 and lived in his Puyallup residence until the time of his passing.

He was preceded in death by wife of 43 years, Arlaine (Nehser); sister, Alice; brother, Allen; and is survived by sons, Gary, James, and Robert; brother, Roy; sister, Judy Lamb (Paul); and his numerous cats whom he loved dearly. A memorial is planned for noon Sunday, May 16, at the Beit Hallel, 7520 28th ST W. Tacoma, with a burial ceremony with full military honors at Tahoma National Cemetery on Wednesday the 19th at 11:15 AM. 

(The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA, 14 May 2010 - courtesy Tedd Cocker)

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