Army groups get together to reminisce
BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer
The third annual dinner of the Northern Chapter of the Association of the United States Army was an event where members of the U.S. Army and Indian Army could enjoy each other's company as well as remember the ones who made the ultimate sacrifice.

U.S. Army Cpl. Steven Koch was one of the soldiers honored at the third annual Northern Chapter of the Association of the United States Army dinner held recently at the Royal Albert's Palace in Fords. Koch, who was a member of the 82nd Airborne 1-508 Parachute Infantry and 23 years old at the time, was killed in the line of duty last year in Afghanistan's Sabari district a month before he was expected to come home from his first tour.

Col. Jack Jacobs, formerly of Woodbridge, was the guest speaker, and the family of U.S. Army Cpl. Steven R. Koch, 23, of the 82nd Airborne 1-508 Parachute Infantry, who was killed in the line of duty last year, March 2008, in Afghanistan's Sabari district a month before he was expected to come home from his first tour, was the honorary family at the dinner, which was held recently at the Royal Albert's Palace in Fords.

The dinner, which is a collaboration of the Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) and the Northern Chapter of the Association of the United States Army under retired Middlesex County Superior Court Judge and Col. Richard Plechner, was attended by members of the Rutgers University Reserve Officers' Training Corps, U.S. Army veterans and Indian Army veterans.

William and Christine Koch, of East Brunswick, remembered their son as an energetic young man who was determined to help other people.

"Steven entered the Army after he saw how 9/11 affected his older brother, William, who worked in close proximity to the World Trade Center," said William. "He wanted to defend his country, and we are proud of him."

Christine said they had spoken to their son on a Friday in April 2008.

"Then that Monday came, which was the worst day," she said with tears in her eyes. "It was around 9 p.m., and the dogs were barking. I could see through the window who it was. There was no other reason they could be there … my heart sunk."

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE KOCH FAMILY

Christine said she remembers thinking that it couldn't be Steven.

"I said 'No, I just talked to Steven, they got the wrong soldier,' " she recalled saying to the military personnel outside her front door.

Steven, who would have turned 25 this October, is buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

In January the Military Entrance Processing Station at Fort Dix was memorialized in Cpl. Koch's name.

The Koch family has since been involved in many events, parades and memorials in memory of their son. On Memorial Day a service was held at the Cpl. Koch/POWMIA Memorial on the grounds of Our Lady of Lourdes School in Milltown.

The family will continue holding the Cpl. Steven R. Koch "Challenge Coins" fundraiser to raise money for veteran-related programs through American Legion Milltown Post 25 and the Northern New Jersey Chapter of the 82nd Airborne.

William Koch said that on July 4 a Cpl. Steven R. Koch Trust Fund check will be presented to the American Legion from funds raised through the fundraiser, and another check will be presented to the Milltown Civil War Fund for a monument at the Milltown American Legion Monument Corner at Washington and JFK Boulevard to honor the 10 Milltown residents who served in the American Civil War.

The nationwide Wounded Warrior Project has already received a check through the Northern New Jersey Chapter of the 82nd Airborne from the trust fund this past June.

Verendra Tavathia, Surash Mehra, Sudeep Bagchee and Bsmarwaha Balbinder, of the Indian Army, said they share the honor, dignity and dedication to service as the members of the U.S. Army do.

"A soldier is a soldier," they said.

Col. Jack H. Jacobs is a retired U.S. Army colonel and currently a military analyst for NBC/MSNBC.

Jacobs, who entered the military service through Rutgers ROTC, told the audience about his experience during the Vietnam War when his battalion came under heavy machine gun and mortar fire from a Viet Cong battalion.

Despite being critically injured in the attack, Jacobs went back into fire to evacuate other wounded soldiers. He saved the lives of a U.S. adviser and 13 allied soldiers. For his heroism, Jacobs earned the Medal of Honor, and he holds three Bronze Stars and two Silver Stars.

Jacobs, 63, who does not deny his small stature, looks back at his experience with a sense of humor.

"If I was 2 inches taller, I think I would have been dead," he said. "It was a good thing to be of smaller size to serve."

Jacobs added that the night did not honor Jack Jacobs, it honored the young men and women who have sacrificed, and those who are sacrificing, their lives defending their country.

"I still think about the people I have served with, and that is what I cherished the most about serving. The people are above the service itself," he said.