Iowa Marine dies of injuries suffered in Afghanistan

PRESTON - U.S. Marine Cpl. Zach Reiff “was a hard worker, a good teammate and a talented athlete,” according to the slain soldier's former football coach at Preston High School.

Reiff, a 2007 Preston graduate, died Monday night after being injured in a roadside bombing in Afghanistan, High School Principal Dave Miller said Tuesday after hearing the news from Reiff's brother, Kolby Reiff.

Miller said Reiff's family was notified Friday that he had been wounded. He said Reiff's parents, Marcia and Matt Reiff of Preston, flew to Germany on Saturday.

“He was just a great kid,” said Dan Beck, Reiff's football coach during his four years in high school.

Reiff's death has hit school staff and students hard, said Beck, the school's athletic director and head boys basketball coach.

“For a lot of us - myself included - it just doesn't seem real,” Reiff's former coach said.

Beck said he had spoken with Reiff after he joined the Marines. “He was proud to serve our country - I know that,” Beck said.

Besides playing football, Reiff wrestled, ran track and participated in plays and student government, Miller said.

Miller said Reiff had returned to Iowa in late September and had spoken to some of the classes about his military service at the request of his mother, a school employee.

“He was going for his second tour and I talked to him for a little bit. He was really proud to represent the United States and the military and what they were doing. That was his job and he wanted to do the best he could,” Miller said.

Miller said he had no other details. The Department of Defense had not confirmed Reiff's death on Tuesday.

A “Prayer Page for Zach Reiff” has been started on Facebook.

Preston, population 2,010, is about 15 miles east of Maquoketa in Jackson County.