A fter many restless and sleepless nights, the words just started spilling out on paper. First came the poem “Always on My Mind,” which William Koch Jr. wrote about his son, U.S. Army Cpl. Steven R. Koch, two months after Steven was killed in Afghanistan.
Steven had enlisted in the Army in 2006 and was a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. He was deployed to Afghanistan in January 2007.
He was 23 in March 2008 when he died from wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device (IED) was detonated in a vehicle outside the building where his platoon was located in the Sabari District. The building collapsed on the entire group. Steven and another soldier died; others were wounded.
It was almost a year later when Steven’s father wrote his second poem, “Empty Chair.”
“I was sitting in our living room and started looking around, and I heard the floor creak, the large grandfather clock in the room had stopped still in time, and I looked out at the black sky outside,” said Koch, who is a resident of Milltown, Middlesex County. “I then focused on his chair, which we had designated for Steven because he was the only one who would sit in it.”
Above: The Koch family (l-r), William Jr., Steven, Billy, Christine and Lynne, celebrates Billy’s high school graduation in 2000. Below: “Casualties of War: Words and Images from the Heart of a Gold Star Father,” published by Tate Publishing and Enterprises, is available at bookstores nationwide. Koch and his wife, Christine, now keep a handmade quilt and two 82nd Airborne blankets on the chair in honor of their son.
Koch has since penned about 165 poems and more than 50 of them are featured in his first book, “Casualties of War — Words & Images from the Heart of a Gold Star Father,” published by Tate Publishing and Enterprises.
Koch said he was posting his poems on his Facebook page, and many people were so moved that they suggested he publish them in a book.
He did just that and is now working on putting together a second book of poems.
Depicted on the cover of “Casualties of War” are two empty chairs — one for Steven and one for his sister, Lynne C. Koch, who took her own life in May 2010 at the age of 29.
“These are our casualties of war,” Koch said. “Lynne loved her brother so much. She cared for him.”
William and Christine said their son and daughter made the ultimate sacrifices.
“Steven protected our country. He protected our family and that is all he would talk about,” Koch said. “He loved helping other people, as did all our children.”
The couple has another child, William Koch III, of East Brunswick.
Steven, who left behind a wife, Amy, and a daughter, Zoe, was a true volunteer. He had become impassioned about defending America after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
His brother worked in close proximity to the World Trade Center at the time and family members were wracked with fear until they were able to reach William that day. The tragedies of that day prompted Steven to enlist in the Army.
It is Steven’s desire to help, and the sacrifice he made, that has his parents feeling they have been “drafted” to participate in programs such as the Wounded Warrior Project, which provides programs and services to severely injured service members after returning from combat, and they also took part in the Run for the Warriors 5K on Sept. 11 in New Brunswick.
Steven’s brother participated in the run with his friends.
Christine Koch said she and her husband are starting to work with groups on the issue of post-traumatic stress disorder. She believes her daughter suffered from PTSD.
“She was the ‘little mommy’ to her younger brothers,” Christine said. “They were her boys. She just loved her brothers and they had the same circle of friends.”
William Koch said it is important to get the word out that returning soldiers need help, and in many cases, so do their family members.
“These kids are making sacrifices to protect our freedom,” he said.
Koch said he wants to reach as many people as possible with his book. He said it is his way of not only sharing his grief and the continual remembrance of the children he lost, but also the sacrifices made by the men and women who serve in the military.
The book is available at bookstores, from www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore, or by visiting barnesandnoble.com or amazon.com.