Published: November 19, 2007 01:28 am      

NIAGARA FALLS: Falls native dies in Iraq

Steven Ganczewski knew the risks.

He died doing what he loved.

The U.S. military is still trying to sort out exactly what happened, but Ganczewski died Friday in Balad, Iraq, from what the Department of Defense said were “wounds suffered from a combat-related incident.” His family says they were told he fell from a helicopter on his way to a mission.

“He was doing what he loved,” his father, Mark, said Sunday night. “He knew all the risks that were involved (in combat). His commanding officer told me he was one of the best, one of the good ones.”

The 22-year-old Army Ranger from the Falls seemed destined for a career in the military.

“His grandfather was in the 101st Airborne during World War II, and his grandmother was in the Army,” Steven’s dad, Mark, said Sunday night. “I spent 16 years in the Air Force, my older brother was in the Navy.”

On Sept. 11, 2001, Steven was the commandant of his Civil Air Patrol unit at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station. His dad said you could see the role the military would play in Steven’s life.

“He went through a lot of the different (Civil Air Patrol) training and after 9/11, he decided he wanted to do something for the county,” Ganczewski said.

After going through para-rescue training in New Mexico, his dad said Steven set his sights on becoming an Army Ranger.

“Steven was a child who excelled at everything,” Ganczewski said. “He wanted to be the best at everything he did.”

That meant excelling at football, cross country and wrestling while he was a student at Niagara Falls High School. Just eight days after he graduated in 2003, Steven entered the Army.

In four years in the military, Ganczewski served five tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. His dad said Steven tried to give them a little insight into what he was doing.

“He would say, ‘Mom, Dad, what I’m telling you is for you, but you can’t tell anyone else,” Ganczewski said.

He was survived by his wife Rachel, 22, an Army heavy equipment operator, and a daughter, Makayla, 2. Both are at Fort Benning. Ga., where Steven was stationed with the Third Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.

His mom, Maria, is an English as a second language classroom associate at Abate Elementary School. His younger brother, Christopher, is a senior at NFHS and is hoping to win an appointment to the Air Force Academy

“I’m not ready to lose him,” his mother said. “He was great family to me, to his father, to his brother.”

NFHS Principal Mark Laurie said flags at the school will be lowered this morning in Steven’s memory.

“This is a real tragedy,” Laurie said. “It puts a pretty somber mood on the school.”

An avid Bills and Sabres fan, Steven also worked at the Como Restaurant. He received a number of military awards and decorations, including the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Iraq Campaign Medal.

He was posthumously awarded the Meritorious Service Medal and the Bronze Star. His mother said this tour was to be his last before he planned to return home to train new Army Rangers.

Funeral arrangements have not been completed at this time.

Contact reporter Rick Pfeifferat 282-2311, ext. 2252.