Patrick D. Leach
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Before Patrick D. Leach went to war again, he had to make sure his family was taken care of. He installed a new washer and dryer, a new refrigerator and a state-of-the-art hot water heater. "He had to take care of that mission before he went on the real mission," said relative Jack Ward III. "He was the kind of guy who could fix anything under any circumstance. We called him MacGyver." Leach, 39, of Rock Hill, S.C., died Dec. 9 when his helicopter collided with another at the Mosul airport. He was based in Columbia, S.C. A 1992 graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Leach served in the Guard for 18 years and was credited with destroying 20 enemy tanks in the Gulf War. His goal when he returned was to work on the house, take his wife on a ski trip and to finally finish the 1969 Ford Mustang he was restoring in the garage. He'd already cut two cars in half and soldered them together. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; daughter, Juliet, 4; and sons, Grafton, 2, and Miller, 7 months. Two older sons from a previous marriage, Carl and Brandon, live in Washington state.