Dear relatives, extended family members, & friends of Leonard Steinke,
I first met Leonard at Ft. Bliss, TX. He was always a fun loving guy. He was just 19 years old. I was 24 yrs. old so I was the old man of the private E-2s. We were always trying to figure out how to avoid pulling extra duty. We eventually learned the ropes, and how to work within the system. We ended our 8 months of training with the best Hawk Missile Battery (B Battery 6th Missile Battalion 562nd Artillery) that ever went through Ft. Bliss.
I remember when we got to Germany, when we went to the field for maneuvers, there was a lot of snow on the ground as cold. We were huddled around a running generator to keep warm, and someone said how cold it was. Leonard said, “it’s not cold, it gets so cold back home, I’ve seen a polar shiver”, and everybody laugh. He was full of that good old Michigan Humor. There was always a lot of horseplay when we went of trips to different places, to show off our equipment, and Leonard was right in the middle of it. We were the demonstration Battery for awhile, because we didn’t have an active site. We got to travel around West Germany, we actually had a good time.
Chuck Neely, Tom Anderson, & Tom Edmondson were instrumental in finding all the B Battery members with some help from some other members. They put the first reunion in Louisville, Kentucky together. I’m not sure which reunion was Leonard’s first. I was very happy to see him, and to meet His dear friends Dr. Bob Kraff & his late wife Linda. It was always a pleasure talking to them, when they came to the reunions. A whole generation had passed since we saw each other, so we had to catch up on what we had been doing those past 30 some years, and to reminisce about old times in the service.
Your loss is also B Battery’s loss, and we grieve with you. Leonard has crossed over to the other side, but the reunion is even grander there. We all have to make that transition one day, where eternal rest and peace abound. I want to extend my deepest sympathies to the Steinke family and I ask for GOD’s blessings upon you to ease your grief and sorrow.
HIS JOURNEY HAS JUST BEGUN
Don't think of him as gone away,
his journey has just begun.
Life holds so many facets,
this earth is only one.
Just think of him as resting
from the sorrows and the tears,
in a place of warmth and comfort,
where there are no days and years.
Think of how he must be wishing
that we could know today,
how nothing but our sadness
can really pass away.
And think of him as living
in the hearts of those he touched
for nothing loved is ever lost
and he was loved so much.
GOD Bless you all,
Robert M. Garriest
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
April 24, 2018
