WASHINGTON, Conn. (AP) – Maj. Steve Reich’s family said he never told them about the dangers he faced or the combat he saw in Afghanistan.

He sounded tired when he called, and he once sent home a photo that showed him receiving a Bronze Star. But he never said what he had done to earn it. Instead, he wanted to talk about the progress of the garden he had built for his new wife.

The 34-year-old Reich, who was married in March, was among 16 U.S. soldiers flying on a special forces helicopter that was shot down June 28 in eastern Afghanistan.

His family returned this weekend from Georgia, where they attended a memorial for Reich and seven other members of the 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, a unit of elite Army helicopter crews that flies special forces commandos behind enemy lines under cover of night. Reich was a company commander.

“I couldn’t conceive of what he was doing,” his wife, Jill Blue said Saturday. “I now know of his bravery, his selflessness, and absolute competence.”

When they got back from Georgia, his parents discovered their lawn had been mowed, their refrigerator had been stocked, and their laundry and been done.

His father said that was how Steve was raised, in a small town where people care about each other.

“We want people to know that across America, there are thousands of little towns, with little in common with New York, Boston or Hartford,” said Ray Reich. “A number of people raised him here. This is a simple story and we wanted to keep it simple.”

Reich was baseball star turned military hero. He carried the American flag while representing Team USA in 1993 at the World University games on a team that also included current major leaguers Paul Wilson, Todd Helton, Todd Walker and Dustin Hermanson. He pitched briefly in the Baltimore Orioles system in 1996 before the military recalled him to active duty.

But his father said his family will remember him as their small-town Connecticut boy.

“For us he was an ordinary teenager. He was not exceptional, but if he made friends, he was your friend for life,” Ray Reich said.

A memorial service for Reich is scheduled Sunday at 4 p.m. at Town Hall. State officials, including Gov. M. Jodi Rell are planning to attend.

AP-ES-07-09-05 1854EDT