Fallen Heroes of Operation Enduring Freedom

"Just remembering....and wondering how you are doing. email is familyforhim7@gmail.com Lynne"
Lynne Helms of niceville florida

"I was stationed with you in Iceland and again at Moody. You'll never be forgotten. I think of your family a lot and how they must miss you. A true believer! Until we meet again friend...."So that others may live"."
Kristi (Jenson) Rogers of Lackland AFB TX

"To The Family and Friends of Lt Col John Stein:

I am an Air Force ROTC cadet and Miami University of Ohio. I am currently in my junior year. Recently I recieved a metallic KIA band with Lt Col Stein's name on it honoring his passing. I did not know him, but when I recieved the band, I began to research his name. I now wear this band every day in honor of him and all of those that have fallen. I wish the best of luck to all of those close to John. My heart goes out to all of you."
Bryan Dukes of Oxford, Ohio

"May 28, 2007 (Memorial Day)
To the family of John Stein. John gave the ultimate sacrifice and will be held in the hearts of Americans forever. I cannot and will not let our fallen heroes be forgotten. My deepest sympathy to you. "Some gave all."
Peggy Childers
"Don't Let The Memory Of Them Drift Away"
www.IraqWarHeroes.org"
Peggy Childers of Carson City, NV

"I logged numerous hours with John as did BoB McGuirk serving with him at Hurlburt and deploying with him to several locations overseas. I served with the 55th SOS from 1994-1999; a wonderful unit. Most memorable was a miserable deployment to Jordon in, I believe, 1995 or 96. During that deployment we slept in a hangar, in our helicopters, at King Faisal Airbase, in 100+ degree weather. I remember John walking up the road from a command briefing with every pocket stuffed full of water bottles that he had taken from the General's hooch. We hadn't seen cold water for about a month so you can only imagine the greeting we gave him! He didn't give out any of the water to us (the aircrew) but rather went around to the maintainers and handed out the water to them. Witnessing that, and having been a former maintainer, I understood where he was coming from. He wanted to ensure that those individuals taking care of our aircraft were taken care of themselves.
I flew numerous missions with John over the years. In Jordon I remember a particular mission where we flew over the lost city of Petra and had some problems programming our IFF prior to take-off. We were intercepted by some Israeli fighters from about 40 miles out and rather than concede our intrusion on the Israeli border we raced back into Jordon, blamed the whole problem on the Army, and laughed until we cried.
In 1999 I was lucky to work with him again when we met up in Hawaii for the flight manual rewrite for the
MH-60 and have the opportunity to spend some more time with him. We spent a week rewriting the manual and culminated our trip meeting outside a BBQ place not far from Hickam AFB, Hawaii. I remember as I left giving John a hug and telling him to fly safe; a standard way to say goodbye to an aviator.
John could quote darn near anything verbatim from the flight manual and would really take the time to explain how systems operated or things worked on the aircraft. I never observed him losing his temper, cussing, or acting in an unprofessional manner. John was a true officer and a gentleman and we as a country have lost a proponent for doing the right thing regardless of the cost. He believed in it and paid the ultimate price. Hero?, I believe so.""
Chad Bloom of Nashville, TN.

"the Helms'-Niceville, FL--Barbara, Erin, Douglas, Timothy--I just stumbled upon this website after having read about the Marine who was given the Medal of Honor. How would you know that you have all been on my mind this week? The kids and I were stunned to hear about John's accident, but our RBBC was in praise for his life. John exemplified service-whether to his family,church, AWANA and the kids, Grand Prix racing, homeschool outings to the farm in Crestview-I always saw a man who loved his family, and wasn't afraid to show it. Please contact familyforhim@cox.net and we can send you some photos. I hope that you all remember your dad and husband fondly and with warm memories. Thank you for the sacrifices you have made for myself and my family towards our freedom."
L Helms, Joy, Michael and Jonathan of Niceville, FL

"To Mrs Stein and your sons - you are not forgotten and neither is your husband's sacrifice. May God bless you."
Maj Cheryl Schramm of St Petersburg, FL

""Memorial Day" 2006
"JOHN STEIN"
"I WILL NEVER FORGET""
Ellen Thomas of Burbank, IL

"I REMEMBER YOU ALWAYS FOR I CARRY THE NAME JOHN STEIN TOO."
JOHN STEIN of STORY,WY 82842

"My name is Cameron Schilling and I have started “Portrait of a Soldier” which donates a portrait sketch of every Illinois soldier who has fallen in Iraq or Afghanistan. All 122 sketches will be on display for a Memorial Day Presentation in Chicago, Illinois on May 26-31 at the James R. Thompson Center in downtown Chicago. After the ceremony the sketches will be given to the immediate families of the Illinois soldiers. I would invite any friends or family members to come and honor these men and women from Illinois who have given their lives to our country. For more information please contact OperationHomeFront.org at 866-417-8889 which is an organization headed by the Lt. Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois who is in charge of the Memorial Day Presentation. Thank You.

Please check out www.portraitofasoldier.org
To contact Cameron email cameronschilling84@hotmail.com
To contact Operation Home Front call 866-417-8889"
Cameron Schilling of Charleston, Illinois

""Nothing in all creation is so like God as stillness". - Meister Eckhart
Pausing today in stillness... in the memory of Air Force Lt. Col. John Stein."
Jane Stein of Columbus, OH

"My name is Cameron Schilling. I am a college student from central Illinois. I am the first generation of my family not to serve his country. I am extremely grateful for the sacrifice you and your loved one has given for the United States. I am disappointed by the way the news media has covered this war and the deaths of our youth. The media has stopped listing the names of the soldiers killed in Iraq and people only talk about the soldiers when we reach a specific milestone in deaths. If you just started watching the news today you would not even know there is a war going on. Partisan politics have replaced coverage of our young generation who have traveled to a foreign land in the name of the United States. Whether you believe the war in Iraq is wrong, right, justified or not everyone should pay even just a little more attention to what these young men and women are sacrificing. This is what I would like to do. I want to do my part in honoring these soldiers and their memories. Along with being a college student I am also a budding artist. I draw pencil portraits of local people in my community. I want to offer a pencil portrait sketch to the immediate family of every Illinois soldier killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. Please contact me at cameronschilling84@hotmail.com."
Cameron of Illinois

"Col. Stein,
Sir, I would like to say thank you to you and your fellow crewmembers for your service and sacrifice for our Country. And to your family, I wish to extend my deepest sympathy."
Mike Casey of El Paso, Texas

"In 1983 I was on the cadre staff at RIT where John was an ROTC cadet...I will always remember him as an outstanding student and person. God Bless him!!!!!!!"
Major Bruce Knapp, retired of Raleigh, NC

"I have been thinking alot about John in the last several weeks. I only knew him for a short time when we worked together at HQ AFSOC/DOT and in that short time I gained a great respect for him. He always took the time to help me when I had questions that required his expertise.
As most of you, I also remember the day I received the information on the accident. Even today it is truly hard to believe that He's gone.
I'm retired now and I'm not sure why He's been on my mind lately but I'm glad I had the chance to share in his life. I know God has Blessed you John and I know I was Blessed by you."
Michael Stewart of Plano, Texas

"I met Lt Col Stein in Uzbekistan while on a visit for a communications upgrade. At first, he wanted nothing to do with our group, and questioned everything that we were attempting to provide him. I trained him on the new software, and completed several installs. When we arrived in Afghanistan, we encountered another division of his unit. There, again, we ran into the same problems.

Once I explained why the software was needed, and how it would assist him, he was all for the upgrades, and became more than accomodating to us.

I found out about the crash when I was in Qatar. Myself and the rest of the team were deeply affected by this.

I give my sincere condolences to the family and friends of Lt Col John Stein. He was a great leader and friend, and I am sure that he will always be missed."
Ian Kelly, SSgt, USAF of Stuttgart, Germany

"I remember John Stein as a good and honorable man. I loved flying with him, and attending church with the whole family at First Baptist Church Njardvik. A first class guy. May the Lord bless and keep his family.
"So that others may live""
Robert Bartee of Weatherford TX

"To the family and friends,

Our prayers are with you in this most difficult time and we thank you for your loved ones bravery and sacrifice. May God strengthen you from knowing that fellow Americans and people around the world care about you and grieve with you in your loss. Your loved one is a hero. Greater love have no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13.

God bless you.

Home Front Ministries
Shepherd of the Hills Church
Porter Ranch, CA"

"Thanks for stepping forward when America needed you. To the family - Thank you for your contribution to our liberty and freedom. I'm sorry for your tremendous loss."
Ronald Carlson of Montrose, MN

"I flew alot of hours with then Capt Stein. He was a great pilot and a great leader. God bless you."
Bob McGuirk, MSgt, USAF (Ret) of Massachusetts

"Colonel Stein, goodbye soldier and thank you. You are my hero."
Bill of Houston, Texas

"Dear Stein Family: I am so very sorry for the loss of your loved one. I will NEVER forgot John and what he did for his family, friends, and AMERICA. He will ALWAYS be an AMERICAN HERO. You are all in my thoughts and prayers. God Bless. John: Thank You. May you rest in peace."
Jessica of Rio Vista,CA

"To the family of Stein who was the pilot on Komodo 11 that went down in Afghanistan. My heart goes out to you. My son, SSgt Jason Hicks, was on the same helicopter. It has been a year, a short year and a long year, a hard year, but God and time will help."
Theresa Hicks of Jefferson, SC

"We are so very grateful for the many years of outstanding and brave service that Col. Stein gave to this country. He was an exceptional man to have accomplished all he did. We can only give prayers of thanks to his family for what he did for all of us here in America."
The Estes Family of Phoenix, AZ

"Thank you John Stein, you will not be forgotten. Your bravery goes beyond words. I want to express my deepest gratitude for your sacrifice. To the family and friends, my prayers and deep condolences in your loss. May God strengthen you from knowing that fellow Americans and people around the world care about you and grieve with you in your loss. God bless you all. A very appreciative fellow American,"
Leo Titus of Grayslake, Illinios

"I met Lt Col John Stein at K2 in Uzbekistan. I was the Director of Public Works from 23 August 2002 to 3 June 2003. He was one of my customers and Commander of the Search And Rescue Detachment there. I was working with him on a new hangar and maintenance area that he wanted to improve his operations. I was in Mazzar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan when I heard that he had fallen in the line of duty. I was very saddened when I heard this. He and I first met and clashed briefly. He had a strong personality and knew what he wanted. I ended up respecting and liking him very much after our brief run-in. He cared about his soldiers, our country and the missions at hand. He is a great, courageous man and I will not forget him! He is a fallen HERO."
LTC Hans Drehsler, EN, USAR of Highlands Ranch, CO, USA

"To the family and friends of Lt. Col. John Stein:
May God's grace be with you during your time of grief. Please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you and we feel your loss and share in your sorrow. Bless John for the sacrifice he has made to make a better life for the rest of us."
The Ford Family of Wells, Nevada

"To the family and friends of Lt. Col. John Stein:
I am saddened by the loss of your loved one. He will always be remembered as a hero for fighting for freedom. I hope that this website will be a source of comfort and encouragement for you during this difficult time, and in the future as you recall the memories of John, who continues to live on in your heart."
Tim Rivera of Powder Springs, Georgia