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Even though he never owned the Victory he dreamed of, Steven Drees is hereby classified as a Victory Rider.
Victory Rider Steven Drees was also a loving son, twin brother and patriot who gave all.
In the words of the U.S. Department of Defense:
“Pfc. Steven T. Drees, 19, of Peshtigo, Wis., died June 28 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, in Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries sustained June 24 in Konar Province, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire and a rocket-propelled-grenade launcher. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.”
Steven Drees dreamed of riding Victorys with his twin brother Charlie, who currently owns a Vegas Jackpot. Steven has his heart set on an 8-Ball, and his plan was to go riding at great length with his beloved brother.
But his service to his country came first, and he gave his life protecting those with whom he went into battle. He was a gunner on a Humvee, and when his outfit came under attack, he stayed on his weapon, providing as much cover as possible before being shot.
Steven was transferred to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, in Landstuhl, Germany, for medical attention. His parents, Paul Drees and Dawn Bayer, and his twin brother Charlie flew to Germany to bid him farewell. He was then taken off life support and, per his wishes, he continued to give and to help others as an organ donor.
Young and Youthful
Steven Drees and his brother Charlie were born May 26, 1990, in Peshtigo, a small town near Green Bay. How small? It’s one of those towns best known for a calamity – the Peshtigo Fire of 1871, in which 1,200 people died. But it’s rock-solid middle America, where good kids are raised and some of the best of those go on to be soldiers.
Steven joined the Army on July 25, 2008, and was deployed May 26 of that year – his 19th birthday. He was excited to leave Peshtigo because he was moving on the career he really wanted, yet he knew his hometown would always be a big part of him.
In a message on his MySpace page, Steven sounded like a million guys who have left their small hometowns behind – for now. He also wrote of his commitment to serving his country.
“My hometown is Peshtigo and as much as I hate it at times, I’ll never forget it,” he wrote. “It made me who I am and the Army just added to it, and I’ll never change. I’m a member of the US Army, I’m an Infantryman and I love it. I give everything I have to serve my country and the people in it. I put the well-being of the civilians before my own because I am only a tiny, tiny part of my country and the civilians make up the majority of this country… giving one life to free thousands and make their life better is a trade me and my fellow Infantry bothers will make in a heart beat…
“I don’t fight for this country – it’s just land. I fight for the people that live here, every child, woman, and man.”
Hauntingly, the music playing when you land on his MySpace page is the Tracy Lawrence song, “If I Don’t Make It Back.”
Peshtigo Honors Its Native Son
Pvt. Drees was wounded June 24 and he died June 29. For the next week, and beyond, the people of the Peshtigo area came out to pay tribute and provide his family with unending support.
His boyhood home on Peck Avenue was decorated with lights, flags and tributes and a nighttime vigil was held in his honor.
No funeral home could have handled the turn-out of mourners, so an all-day visitation was held July 7 in the gym of Peshtigo High School, where Pvt. Drees once played for the basketball team. A large memorial service with an overflow crowd was held in the gym that evening. The funeral service was webcast to Pvt. Drees’s unit in Afghanistan.
Parked outside the high school entrance was Charlie’s Vegas Jackpot and a Victory 8-Ball. The 8-Ball was provided by Cozzy’s Polaris & Victory, the dealership in Marinette, Wisconsin, where Charlie bought his bike and where Steven would have purchased his 8-Ball.
“We had received a call asking if we could get an 8-Ball over to the high school during the service and we were proud to do so,” said dealership owner Mike “Cozzy” Costello. “He was an American hero.”
Cozzy and Karen Costello have a son Joe who is currently serving with the Navy on the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan in the Middle East.
“The community stepped up to pay tribute to Steven,” Cozzy said. “He and his brother were really, really close, and they were going to tour together on their Victorys after Steven got out of the service.”
Steven and his brother Charlie were distinctly different, yet they were extremely close. They were individuals with a permanent bond of being a twin, and they had planned to solidify that bond even further on the road on their Victorys.
The Patriot Guard provided escorts and tributes at the memorial service and the private burial the following day.
Highly Honored
According to the Peshtigo Times, at the memorial service, an Army representative presented Pvt. Drees’s family “with four honor coins and numerous awards, including the Bronze Star Medal with “V” device; Purple Heart Medal; Army Good Conduct Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Bronze Service Star; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Army Service Ribbon; Overseas Service Ribbon; NATO Medal, Posthumous; Combat Infantryman Badge; Overseas Service Bar and the Expert Weapons Qualification Badge (rifle).”
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle ordered that flags be flown at half-staff throughout the state in Pvt. Drees’s honor, and Wisconsin Rep. Steve Kagen read a tribute on the floor of the House of Representatives, and presented Pvt. Drees’s family with an American flag that had been flown over the U.S. Capitol.
We salute Pvt. Steven Drees – son, brother, soldier and Victory Rider.
Godspeed, Steven.
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