Steve Reich
| Date and Place of Birth: | May 22, 1971 Cleveland, OH |
| Date and Place of Death: | June 28, 2005 near Asadabad, Afghanistan |
| Baseball Experience: | Minor League |
| Position: | Pitcher |
| Rank: | Major |
| Military Unit: | 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Regiment (Aviation), US Army |
| Area Served: | Afghanistan |
Stephen C. Reich, son of Raymond and Sue Reich, was born in
Cleveland, Ohio, on May 22, 1971. His family moved to Washington,
Connecticut, when he was nine years old, and the left-handed pitcher
starred on the Shepaug Valley High School Spartans baseball team,
leading them to a state championship in 1987, where he pitched and won
the championship game.
Following high school, Reich chose to attend the United States Military
Academy rather than sign a minor league baseball contract, and was a
star pitcher for the Army baseball team, going on to hold the record for
most wins by a West Point pitcher. He was a freshman All-American in
1990, and the Patriot League Pitcher of the Year in 1993. That same
year, he was named to the "Team USA" baseball team, and carried the
American flag at the World University Games. In 1994, he attended the
Aviation Officer Basic Course and Initial Entry Rotary Wing training. In
1995, he was assigned to the University of Kentucky ROTC program and
signed with the Baltimore Orioles organization, pitching two games for
the High Desert Mavericks of the Class A+ California League.
He was recalled to the army later in the year and after receiving a
UH-60 Blackhawk transition in 1996, he was ordered to Germany where he
served as Platoon Leader in Company A, 5th Battalion, 158th Aviation
Regiment. During his subsequent tour with the 12th Aviation Brigade he
served in Operation ALLIED FORCE deploying to Hungary, Bosnia, Albania,
and Kosovo. Returning from Germany in 2000, Reich attended the Infantry
Captain’s Career Course at Ft. Benning, Georgia, followed by the
Combined Arms Services Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Upon
arrival to the 160th Special Operations Regiment (Aviation), he deployed
with 2nd Battalion to Operation ENDURING FREEDOM as Battle Captain in
support of Task Force Dagger. In December 2001, he served as Operations
Officer for 2nd Battalion’s detachment of MH-47D aircraft in
Afghanistan. He commanded Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd
Battalion from February 2002 through May 2003. Reich completed a
one-year assignment to Daegu, Republic of Korea as the Operations
Officer for E Company, 160th SOAR(A), before returning to Afghanistan.
On June 28, 2005, assigned to 3rd Battalion, 160th SOAR(A), he was
piloting an MH-47 Chinook helicopter that, as part of Operation Red
Wings, set out with 15 troops to rescue a four-man Navy SEAL team. The
Chinook was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in the mountains of
eastern Afghanistan's Kunar province, killing all on board.
Reich was survived by his wife, Jill, and posthumously awarded the
Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Bronze Star Medal and
an Air Medal with Valor device and the Combat Action Badge. In November
2016, he was inducted into the Connecticut High School Coaches
Association Hall of Fame.
Date Added September 30, 2017
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