On what would have been his 24th birthday, relatives and friends of U.S. Army Cpl. Steven R. Koch gathered Saturday to dedicate a memorial near the entrance to his old elementary school, Our Lady of Lourdes.
SCOTT FRIEDMAN Christine Koch places a rose at the memorial stone honoring her son, the late U.S. Army Cpl. Steven R. Koch, who was killed Afghanistan last March. The memorial outside Our Lady of Lourdes School, Milltown, was dedicated in a ceremony Saturday. Though many had nice words to say about the inspiration they drew from Steven, it was perhaps his own words that said the most about who he was. His mother, Christine, read the quote, taken from Steven’s MySpace Web site:
“A hundred years from now, it will not matter the sort of house I lived in, what my bank account was or the car I drove, but the world may be a different place because I stood in the face of unbeatable odds and stayed committed to the war on terror after the loss of friends and brothers.”
Steven, who graduated East Brunswick High School in 2001 and enlisted in the Army in March 2006, was a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. He was deployed to Afghanistan in January 2007. Last March, one month before he was to return home, he was killed when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated inside a vehicle outside the building where his platoon was located in the Sabari district. The building collapsed on the entire group. He and another soldier died; others were wounded.
SCOTT FRIEDMAN With help from her mom Amy, 2-year-old Zoe Koch places a rose on her father’s memorial stone outside Our Lady of Lourdes School, Milltown, on Saturday. Steven and his older siblings William and Lynne grew up in North Brunswick and attended Our Lady of Lourdes in Milltown. The family eventually moved to East Brunswick, and later Steven would marry his wife Amy and have a daughter, Zoe, now 2.
Steven took the 9/11 attacks to heart. His brother worked across the street from the World Trade Center and was out of touch with the family for several hours after the attacks.
“Steven joined the service because he saw what everyone went through that day and he wanted to fight terrorism,” said his father Bill Koch Jr.
Seeing action didn’t change that. On a short leave at home from the war, Steven told his father that he wanted to re-enlist.
“He had strong feelings about helping the kids, the families, and the women,” his father said. “He was gung ho to protect people who couldn’t protect themselves. … He saw evil over there.”
At their son’s wake, Christine and Bill began to realize how many people’s lives Steven had touched.
“We heard from people all over the country. There were classmates, and people from the pizza parlor where he used to work. There was a guy who Steven had changed a tire for and the two stayed in contact. That’s the kind of man he was,” Bill said.
Many friends and family members gathered to pay their respects at the dedication service Saturday. There were also those who never met the young man, but who were moved by his story and the gallantry with which he died. Joann Cisko of South River didn’t know Steven, but is acquainted with his grandmother.
“You hear about these things on the news, but then it hits home and you really realize what it means,” Cisko said.
Bob Judge, a member of the VFW in Rahway and veteran of the Korean War, said he came out of respect.
“People forget what it’s like to be a soldier, to make this kind of sacrifice,” he said.
Two memorial stones were dedicated near the entrance to the Cleveland Avenue School. One was for Steven, the other for prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action. Koch’s family has been actively raising funds for the memorial, and Christine noted how grateful she was to all the groups and individuals who contributed assistance and funds to make the memorial possible.
While overwhelmed with grief, the Koch family has not just focused on their own son and their own loss. It has reached out to other families whose sons or daughters have also died in service.
“We feel a connection with them,” Bill Koch Jr. said. That is why he is particularly pleased that the Our Lady of Lourdes memorial honors POWs and MIAs, as well as Steven.
During the ceremony, the sun broke through the clouds as the flag was raised and the ceremony began. Commander Ron Dixon of the American Legion Joyce Kilmer Post # 25 led the service. The Middlesex County Police and Fire Pipes and Drums moved the crowd with their music, particularly “Amazing Grace” and “Taps,” towards the end of ceremony. Representatives from the 82nd Airborne Northern Division and the Knights of Columbus were on hand to pay respects.
While the POW-MIA stone has the shape and appearance of the American flag, the memorial stone for Steven bears an engraving of the young man in uniform. The word “Airborne” is proudly carved across the top, and below is a quote he often said to family and friends: “I’d bleed on the flag to keep these stripes red.” A soldier’s cross stood nearby with a rifle and dog tags, in the ground in front of a pair of Steven’s boots; a helmet resting on top of the gun.
Next to that was a small table with a single place setting, symbolizing POWs or MIAs, those who could not be with family and friends.
“His voice has been silenced, but he speaks eloquently to us,” said Father Ed Czarcinski, pastor at Our Lady of Lourdes, who performed a blessing of the memorial.
“As we rush past this memorial in the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives, let us remember to take a moment of silence to think about the sacrifice Steven has made,” the Rev. Czarcinski said.
U.S. Congressman Rush Holt was not part of the official service, but came to pay his respects to the family.
“I had met them about a month after Steven died and was impressed with the dignity and grace with which they were coping,” Holt said. “I feel we all need to honor those who make this kind of sacrifice for their country.”
A former paratrooper from Indiana has created a tribute Web site to Steven, which can be found at www.freewebs.com/stevenkoch.

