Return to Pointer View home page July 8,  2005

Service held for 1993 grad 

Compiled by Irene Brown
Editor

Maj. Steve Reich

Services were held Sunday in Washington, Conn., for Maj. Steve Reich, a 1993 West Point graduate and former Team USA baseball player.

Reich, 34, was among the 16 Soldiers who died when a special forces U.S. MH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed June 28 in eastern Afghanistan.

The commander of Company B, 3rd Battalion in the 160th SOAR (Special Operations Aviation Regiment) at Hunter Army Airfield in Ga., Reich was married just four months ago.

While at West Point, Reich was a star pitcher for the men’s baseball team with one of the lowest collegiate earned run averages in the nation. He also holds the academy record for strikeouts.

Following his graduation in 1993, Reich was selected to represent Team USA at the World University games. He also pitched briefly in the Baltimore Orioles system in 1996 before being recalled to active duty. His father told the Associated Press June 29 that when the Army called his son answered.

“My son had so many opportunities and choices in life, but he chose the Army because he knew how important it was to keep our country safe,” Ray Reich said. 

According to Army officials the crash occurred in the eastern Afghanistan province of Kunar in the mountains near Asadabad. The unit was taking part in an offensive against al-Qaida militants in “Operation Red Wing,” officials explained. It was the single greatest loss of life by the U.S. military in Afghanistan since it ousted the Taliban in 2001.

The senior Reich told reporters that while his son didn’t tell them much about his service, he knows Steve was a hero.

“He wouldn’t even tell us what it was that earned his first Bronze Star. He wouldn’t tell us what earned him his second Bronze Star, but we sure know what earned him the 3rd Bronze Star,” Ray Reich said.

Reich is survived by his wife, Jill and parents, Ray and Sue Reich.