Air Force Master Sgt. Steven E. Auchman

Died November 9, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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37, of Waterloo, N.Y.; assigned to the 5th Air Support Operations Squadron, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Nov. 9 of injuries sustained when multiple rocket-propelled grenades struck his location in Mosul, Iraq.

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Senior NCO from New York killed in Iraq

Associated Press

FORT LEWIS, Wash. — A 37-year-old airman from upstate New York who was sent to Iraq last month has been killed in an attack, the Defense Department said Wednesday.

Master Sgt. Steven E. Auchman, of Waterloo, died Tuesday from injuries sustained when multiple rocket-propelled grenades struck his location in Mosul, Pentagon officials said. U.S. and Iraqi forces in that northern Iraq city recently clashed with gunmen, with two attacks against American military convoys.

Auchman joined the Air Force in 1985. He worked in radio maintenance, and in February was assigned to the 5th Air Support Operations Squadron based at Fort Lewis, an Army post about 30 miles south of Seattle. He deployed to Iraq in October to help support the Fort Lewis Stryker Brigade and was scheduled to return in January.

Auchman graduated from high school in Waterloo, 37 miles southwest of Syracuse, in 1985. He was stationed in Germany for several years before moving to Fort Lewis and was scheduled to retire next year, family friend Chris Banks said.

“He knew about his sense of duty,” Banks told the Finger Lakes Times in Geneva. Auchman is survived by his wife, Jennifer, two teenage sons, three brothers and a sister.

“Our hearts go out to all of Sgt. Auchman’s family, and the Air Force is doing everything it can to help them get through this difficult time,” said Col. George Bochain, 1st Air Support Operations Group commander. “Steven was a wonderful father, a true hero and a superb airman.”

Auchman was also attached to nearby McChord Air Force Base, which shares a border with the post. Officials there said his family had requested time to grieve.