Iowa Post 73 is raising money to assist U.S. Army Master Sgt. Josh Steinback, who was seriously injured in a March 1 attack that took the lives of six fellow servicemembers.
An Iran airstrike on March 1 took the lives of six U.S. servicemembers from the 103rd Sustainment Command of the Army Reserve that were stationed at an operations center in Kuwait. Among those seriously injured in the strike was Master Sgt. Josh Steinback, an Army Reserve soldier from Tama, Iowa, and member of American Legion Post 73 in the same small city.
Steinback, the father of two, was airlifted to Germany initially, where his wife Angie met him. He’s since been transferred to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland, where he will be cared for indefinitely.
And for the indefinite future, Post 73 will do what it can to assist Steinback and his family, using past fundraisers and a larger future one to provide financial assistance as the servicemember moves down the road to recovery.
Post 73, who has monthly fish fries from September to April, is donating the money raised from those in both 2025 and this year to Steinback’s family to assist with expenses. The post also is coordinating with other area American Legion posts and the Veterans of Foreign Wars for a bigger fundraiser down the road, once Steinback can be in attendance.
“It hit really close to home for us – especially when we found out all of his conditions,” Post 73 Commander Jeff Large said. “We knew he was going to need support and help. Right now, they’ve got a lot of expenses. The wife is staying at Walter Reed, so she’s got a lot of expenses there.”
Post 73 immediately reached out to Steinback’s wife, Angela, and has been in regular contact with her. The post then decided that all the money raised from its fish fries would go to assisting the Steinbacks with expenses that include going back and forth from Iowa to Maryland, as well as regular household expenses.
Large said that when the post publicized that Steinback would be the recipient of its March fish fry donations, it saw a rise in attendance. “It was a big rise. The community really stepped up to help support (Steinback) and his family,” he said. “It’s a real eye-opener how your community pulls together to support your locals.”
But beyond that, Large said Post 73’s American Legion Family is working with Reinig-Friedrichs Post 72 in Toledo, Iowa, and Robert Morgan Post 701 in Tama, as well as the VFW, for a larger fundraiser that will take place when Josh can be there to attend.
“All the proceeds from that will go to offset their expenses,” Large said. “Right now, we’re doing our planning. We’re going to have a live auction. We’re going to have free-will donations and food. We’re going to have a ton of games. We’ve got some bands that have shown interest in donating their time. We’re going to meet once a month until we get a date that works for the family. Once we get that, we’ll set our date.”
Large said Post 73 has taken on assisting Steinback and his family out of a sense of obligation. “We’re not trying to get any recognition out of this. We’re just trying to help our veteran,” he said. “No. 1, he is a member of our post. No. 2, he’s a veteran. And No. 3, the biggest reason, is the expense of the family. Having a family having to worry about expenses … they need to spend their time worrying about their family member, their loved one. We’re trying to help relieve that stress for them.”
- Troops