HESS, JACOB

Jacob M. Hess was born on February 05, 1981 in San Diego California to Michael Hess and Keirsten Lyons, and was a brother to Cameron. Grewing up in a military family, he had his own passport by the age of 4 and had moved several times growing up. Jake lived in Okinawa Japan for seven years where he forged childhood friendships during long days exploring the many island beaches. He had considered Okinawa as his emotional home.  

Prior to his senior year, Jacob moved to Spokane Washington where he attended and graduated in 2009 from North Central High School. Two of his favorite sports were soccer and hockey, and according to Mica Lamb, his North Central soccer coach “the kid was tenacious, he would never give up”. Not only had Jake won multiple awards as the most valuable player for different teams, he was also inducted into the National Honor Society and had a Congressional Award for citizenship. Having a love for history, he had hoped to take a tour of all the historic battle sites. 

Jake and his high school sweetheart, Bridget, both decided to join the Marine Corps together, ultimately, getting married within a week of their boot camp graduations. Sgt Hess was a stellar Marine, being promoted to the rank of Sergeant in less than three years. This achievement far exceeds the average time it takes to get promoted to Sgt. According to his 1st Sgt. Leon Banta, Sgt Hess “was the epitome of what a leader in the Marines should be…he was my go-to-guy and was absolutely good at everything”.  

When Bridget’s unit came up for deployment, Sgt. Hess volunteered to deploy on a 7 month deployment as well. Sgt. Hess said, “he wouldn’t send his wife somewhere he wasn’t willing to go as well”. Sgt. Hess was assigned to the Marine Air Logistics Squadron 40 which supported the MV-22 Osprey, a twin-engine tilt rotor helicopter which is used to transport both our troops and materials.  

Sgt. Hess was killed on January 1, 2014, supporting combat operations in Helmand Province Afghanistan. His military service awards include: the Global War on Terrorism Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.  

Jake became a regular blood donor at 16 years old, and a regular platelet donor at 18 and had the unique privilege of being a bone marrow donor at the age of 20. This selfless act gave the gift of living to a woman he had never met, and one that is still alive today because of him. I would ask you to please consider setting up an appointment and donating your blood or platelets today in honor of Sgt. Jacob Hess, and keeping his legacy alive saving the lives of people you will never meet.  

The Washington State Fallen Heroes Project proudly remembers Sgt. Jacob M. Hess for his service, sacrifice, and commitment to our nation. His life continues to inspire all who learn his story.