Thomas Walter Jaichner, formerly of the Bordentown area, died while on a security mission for Blackwater Security in Iraq.
By: William Wichert
Thomas Jaichner was a big Philadelphia Eagles fan. He was the kind of fan who would get the Eagles logo tattooed on his chest. And, of course, he was devastated when they didn’t win the Super Bowl.
Even while on a security mission in Iraq, he e-mailed his father, Bill, on May 8 to wish his grandmother a happy Mother’s Day and to offer some commentary about his favorite football team. He thought quarterback Donovan McNabb needed to improve his accuracy.
Two days later, Thomas Jaichner was shot and killed by a sniper in the city of Ramadi while guarding a U.S. diplomat for Blackwater USA, a private security firm, less than two weeks before he was expected back home.
During his funeral ceremony at the Brig. Gen. William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in North Hanover Township tomorrow, Friday, this 33-year-old Bordentown City native will be remembered as the Eagles fan, the reader of everything from poetry to comic books, and, above all else, as an individual who has always felt the need to protect his fellow man.
"As a mother, I’m saddened. As an American, I’m proud," said Merle Barrett of Farnsworth Avenue. "He lived his life to the fullest and died doing just what he wanted to do."
Talking by phone Tuesday, Ms. Barrett said the same passion that drove her son to Iraq was there when he was just a little boy. It was in the child who would stand on the staircase and proclaim the words of his beloved cartoon character, "Underdog is here!"
"He liked anything that would be protecting somebody," said Ms. Barrett.
After Thomas Jaichner left Bordentown City 15 years ago to join the U.S. Army and later moved from Alabama to California, he would still act as his mother’s confidant in late-night phone calls across the country.
"He had faith and he had faith in me," his mother said.
A graduate of Northern Burlington County Regional High School, Thomas Jaichner spent two years serving with the Army in Germany before attending the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
During this time in his life, he gradually became what his father, Bill Jaichner, referred to as a "Renaissance man," exploring his own intellectual curiosity and becoming a successful entrepreneur in Tuscaloosa.
With a small group of friends, Thomas Jaichner opened two restaurants in that area, including "Fatt Philly’s," which was his attempt to bring the famous Philly cheese steak sandwich to Alabama, his father said.
The "Philly" is only one sign of the connection that his son always had with his hometown area. "He loved his family. He loved Bordentown," said Bill Jaichner of Route 130 in Mansfield Township by phone on Monday. "He was always drawn to come back, but he enjoyed the rest of the world."
Exploring the world always became tied to military service in Thomas Jaichner’s life. After a few years spent away from it, he returned to a military occupation by joining the Alabama National Guard in 1999.
But what started as a side income for Thomas Jaichner became a full-time mission after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"Once (Sept. 11) happened, he took that very personally," said Bill Jaichner. "He felt it was personally on his shoulders to go and right this wrong."
As a member of the 20th Special Forces Group of the Alabama National Guard, Thomas Jaichner was soon deployed in 2002 to Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. He was spent nine months overseas and gradually fell out of the restaurant business.
"He had a sense of justice and fairness to him," his father said. "I always wanted him to have a regular job, but I don’t think that was in him."
After returning from Afghanistan, Thomas Jaichner started working for Blackwater USA and moved to the Los Angeles area of California with his wife, Blair.
When he died in Iraq during his third Blackwater mission, his father said he was planning on buying a house and moving up through the ranks of the security company.
"He was really trying to come into his own," said Bill Jaichner.
For Thomas Jaichner’s mother, the feeling she is left with is both as simple and as deep as it could be.
"He was my son and I will miss him very much," said Ms. Barrett. "My life will never be the same."
The grandson of Walter J. Jaichner, Thomas Jaichner also is survived by a sister and brother-in-law, Jennifer and Thomas Lynch of Crosswicks; a step-sister, Kimberly Barrett of Bordentown City; a paternal grandmother, Lorraine Jaichner of Mansfield; a maternal grandmother, Maria Miller of Michigan; and several other relatives.
There will be a visitation today, Thursday, from 3 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at the Huber-Moore Funeral Home, 517 Farnsworth Ave. in Bordentown City. At 10 a.m. tomorrow, Friday, a mass will be celebrated at St. Mary’s Church on Crosswicks Street in Bordentown City, followed by the burial at Brig. Gen. William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Bordentown Area Pop Warner Football League.

