Sergeant Steven C. Ganczewski was born on April 17, 1985, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and grew up in Niagara Falls, New York, the son of Mark and Maria Ganczewski. He was only 14 when he decided he wanted to be an Army Ranger, and like nearly everything else he set out to do, he did it. “He wanted to be a Ranger and he did it,” his mother said. “Being a Ranger is not an easy thing to do. Anything he wanted to do, he did it.”
Steven graduated from Niagara Falls High School in 2003 and enlisted in the Army that July as an infantryman. He completed One Station Unit Training at Fort Benning, Georgia, followed by the Basic Airborne Course and the Ranger Indoctrination Program. In May 2004 he was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, where he served as a grenadier and then as a fire team leader. He earned the Ranger Tab, the Expert Infantryman Badge and the Jumpmaster Badge.
In four years of service, Steven completed five combat tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. Ranger rotations were short and frequent, and he usually had only about six months at home between deployments. His sixth tour was meant to be his last overseas; he planned to come home and train new Rangers.
On November 16, 2007, Steven died near Balad, in northern Iraq, of injuries sustained in a combat-related incident while en route to a mission. He was 22 years old. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, a second Bronze Star Medal with “V” device for valor and the Meritorious Service Medal. His other decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, four Army Achievement Medals, the Afghanistan and Iraq Campaign Medals, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Expert Infantryman Badge, the Parachutist Badge, the Jumpmaster Badge and the Ranger Tab.
“He was great family to me, to his father, to his brother,” his mother said. Steven is survived by his wife, Rachel; his daughter, Makayla; his parents, Mark and Maria Ganczewski; and his brother.
In his four years serving in the military, Steven performed five tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan with 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.
75th Ranger Regiment Command
Sources
- Military Times Honor the Fallen: Army Sgt. Steven C. Ganczewski
- ARSOF History: Sergeant Steven C. Ganczewski
- Buffalo Toronto Public Media: Niagara Falls native killed in Iraq
- Family-provided records on file with MVF: Steven Ganczewski bio
