LOS ANGELES, CA, USA
U.S. Army
SPC, COMPANY B, 2ND BATTALION, 5TH INFANTRY, 1 BCT, FORT HOOD, TX
BAGHDAD, IRAQ 12/10/2006
Army Specialiast Nicholas Steinbacher, of La Crescenta, California, joined the Army on December, 24, 2004. He was a few credits short of earning an associate in arts degree from College of the Canyons, California. He did not like injustices and after 9/11, he believed there were things that needed to be done. He chose to enlist but had also wanted some college time. On December 10, 2006 he was died of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee in Baghdad, Iraq as he supported Operation Iraqi Freedom. Specialist Steinbacher been in Iraq two months and was assigned the dangerous work of patrolling the neighborhoods of Baghdad. He was twenty-two years old. His birthday was just two days before his death. Specialist Steinbacher was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
Battle buddies described him as the spirit of their unit. Nick was a 2003 graduate of Crescenta Valley High School. Nicholas played center for the Falcons varsity football team for two years. . His number was 51, the same as that of his father and brother Dan, 23, who both attended the school. His brother Kirk, 18 was also part of the team. He was a fun-loving kid who didn’t let things bother him.
Nick had considered becoming a police officer after his military service concluded, but he also considered making the Army a career. After basic training, Steinbacher attended paratrooper school but fractured a leg on the first jump. Nevertheless, he began skydiving after his rehabilitation and transfer to Ft. Hood. He took to it immediately and loved it. He wanted the whole family to try it.
California’s Governor noted that Specialist Steinbacher set an example of courage and determination that all Californians can admire. Thousands of citizens, veterans, firefighters, classmates and friends came to honor and say goodbye to Special Steinbacher. Many knew him, many did not, but these expressions of honor and respect stretched across two and a half miles.
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