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Northern Connection Magazine,
P.O. Box 354
Ingomar, PA 15127-0354
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Wounded Warrior column
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Since 1983, First Commonwealth Bank has focused on making the 15 counties in western and central Pennsylvania that it serves better places in which to live and work. With over $6 billion in assets, we are committed to helping our clients to achieve financial security by providing comprehensive and seamless banking, trust, insurance, financial management and investment services. In addition, our employees are involved in many non-profit organizations and recognized for their outstanding community service.

Northern Connection magazine is proud to salute the men and women from the North Hills area who are serving in the military.

December 2007:

A Salute to ARCOM Recipient
Steve Toth

Wounded Warriors Project:
Warriors on the Hunt

By Paula Green

Twenty-three-year-old Army Specialist (E-4) Steve Toth is currently serving his country in Baghdad, Iraq. He has been stationed there for the past 14 months. He was originally scheduled to conclude his tour of duty in July; however, it was extended an additional six months. He is now slated to complete this tour in December.

Toth is a native of Tarentum, and he graduated from Highlands High School. He enlisted and left for the army after his high school graduation. Prior to his departure, he worked for his father in his roofing business.

After some soul searching, Toth decided to join the army to help pay for his college education. He plans to pursue that avenue when he is finished serving his country and returns to the states.

He is following in his father’s footsteps with his service in the military. Toth’s dad is a Navy veteran. He was born in Hawaii while his father was on a tour of duty there. Toth was five years old when his family relocated to the Pittsburgh area.

This is Toth’s second tour of duty in Iraq. During his first tour, he received an ARCOM with Valor for saving his friend’s life. ARCOM is an acronym for the Army Commendation Medal. It is awarded to any member of the Armed Forces who distinguishes themselves by an act of heroism, extraordinary achievement or meritorious service.

Previously, Toth spent time serving his country in Europe in Germany. His girlfriend resides there, and they have been dating for the past two and a half years.

His parents are Steve and Tonya Toth of Tarentum. He has a 19-year-old sister, Judy, and a 17-year-old brother, Jordan.

Northern Connection magazine salutes Army Specialist Steve Toth for his dedication and commitment in serving our country.

Support Our Troops Archives - click to read about the service men and women previously honored in Northern Connection magazine.

Wounded Warrior Project: Warriors on the Hunt

This September, six warriors joined Wounded Warrior Project in Sheridan, Wyoming, for a hunt for one of the West’s biggest game animals—elk. The hunt was sponsored by the Chase Foundation and the Chase family, who organized the event and provided all of the equipment for four days of high excitement in the Rockies. Each of the warriors were amputees who had been injured during military service in Iraq, and the trip offered an opportunity to continue recovery in the best possible environment—the great outdoors.

The warriors boarded a private plane for the trip to Sheridan, where a convoy of SUVs greeted them for the drive to the NX Bar Ranch. After a quick lunch at the ranch, the Chases provided each warrior with a Remington 700 hunting rifle. After a few minutes at the shooting range to calibrate the rifles, each warrior was ready to go. The hunters teamed up with volunteer guides from the community, who chauffeured the warriors as they stalked the elk. Within hours, the group bagged their first bull.

Over the course of the next three days, the hunters prowled the ridges and valleys surrounding the ranch. Each warrior followed the elks’ trails, tracking the majestic animals and coming ever closer to their quarry. One by one, the hunters captured the elk, and by the end of the trip each participant had felled both a bull and a cow from the area’s herd of more than 2,000 animals.

A fleet of volunteers chipped in to make the trip unforgettable for the warriors. In addition to the Chase family, more than twenty other people from the community offered their services as drivers, chefs, guides and scouts. Hunting television show hosts Jim Bob and Stork filmed highlights from the trip for their show, “Redneck Adventures,” which will air on The Sportsman Channel in 2008.

By the end of the trip, each participant gained more than simply a trophy to hang on the wall. The warriors reclaimed an active part of life after injury and made a community’s worth of friends in Sheridan. One warrior summed up the trip by saying, “I came home with a lot of really great stories about the hunt. By far it was the greatest hunting experience of my entire life.”

Support Our Troops Archives - click to read about the service men and women previously honored in Northern Connection magazine.