Memorial Service Dec 14, 2007 10am to 12pm

Flowers can be sent to the Memorial Park.

Flowers can also be ordered at the Memorial Park’s on-site flower shop 714-897-7710

Flowers and condolence cards can be sent to Westminster Memorial Park.  If late mailing, please send to:

Airsoft Extreme
Attn: Holtgrefe family
2202 W. Artesia Blvd #G
Torrance, CA  90504

AEX Torrance hours for December 14th – 2pm to 8pm.  We will be closed in the morning to attend the memorial service.

Click here to view pictures and videos of Steve.

THE TRAGEDY

On December 8, 2007, a day of anticipated fun for almost 200 airsoft players at the Op Lion Claws Appreciation Day event turned to tragedy as our friend, Steve Holtgrefe, died of a heart attack during the game.  He was 43 years old. 

Although he was a long time airsoft player and veteran of many large scale airsoft events, Steve looked forward to playing at the Appreciation Day game and being with his small circle of close friends.  Like many of his fellow players, he enjoyed creating the look befitting the role that he would get to play.  He spent many evenings at our shop in the weeks leading up to the event coordinating, researching, and discussing the look with several of our Torrance staff and other shop regulars who were to be his teammates.  Despite owning an expansive collection of airsoft guns, uniforms, and gear, he researched and bought all new equipment and a uniform just for this game to be able to properly play a Warsaw Pact soldier. 

On the morning of the event, he and our head tech, Mike, carpooled up to the event site in Hesperia, CA.  The day was exceptionally cold but clear.  At the start of the game, Steve was supposed to go to battle with the group that included our staff.  However, Steve, always one to march to his own beat, went ahead and joined another group of mutual friends that asked him to join them instead.  After a short patrol and rally, his group was engaged from behind.  During the course of the firefight, his teammates lost sight of him and they presumed was that he was shot out and left to go to the regen point. 

Ken Little, a player on the NATO side who was shot out earlier in the day, was at his side’s regen point when he saw four Warsaw Pact soldiers approach towards him, one of whom later turned out to be Steve.  Ken observed one of the WP players sitting down in the field to rest while the other three trekked on to wherever they were headed.  While awaiting the required time before re-entering the game, several other killed NATO players trickled in to the regen point.  Somewhere during this time, in a span of a few minutes, the WP player who sat at a distance of about 30 yards from Ken and the NATO regen point laid down gently.  A few moments later, fellow NATO player, Andrew Christou approached the regen point.

This game was Andrew Christou’s first airsoft game.  He lived in Japan many years before where he worked as a commercial director and, there, he discovered these cool toys called airsoft guns.  Although not a gun or military enthusiast, he bought several for fun, including some gun models that are currently no longer being produced.  He returned to the US, raised a family, and continued his successful advertising and marketing career.  Recently, he was at a dinner party and during a course of the light evening conversation, airsoft was mentioned.  His conversation partner introduced him to her husband who was also an airsoft enthusiast and, soon, he was introduced to others in his career field that also shared a passion to play airsoft.  Op Lion Claws Appreciation Day was coming up and he was invited to join their team and play with them on the NATO side.  He was referred to our store and, in the past few weeks, he stocked up on supplies and sought customization and repair for his guns from us in preparation for the game.  Joey and I assisted him with his pristine Tanaka H&K P8 just the night before the game.

As Andrew approached his regen point where several fellow NATO players were gathered after he was shot out, he noticed a Warsaw Pact player lying in the open field a few dozen feet away from them.  Andrew’s first thought was, wow, these guys really play up the game by playing dead in the field after they are shot!  This is going to be a blast!  He greeted his fellow NATO players and his friend, Ken, at the regen point and inquired about the WP soldier lying in the field.  None of them knew him or why he was there so near the NATO regen point although it was sometimes common for players who are tired to rest in random places during a game at a large field; even I have lain down in a field during a game to rest and enjoy the stillness of the outdoors.  Soon, they were ready to rejoin the battle.  To ensure that they would not be shot out so quickly after regen by an opponent in such close proximity to them, they called out to the WP soldier lying in the field.  There was no response.  Andrew, who, perhaps because he was new to the game and not used to seeing someone lying by themselves in the field, sensed that something was wrong and felt that the prone player should be checked on.  One of the NATO players decided to approach the prone player and playfully poke him with his gun.  However, as soon as he approached, he saw that something wrong and called out to the other NATO players who were waiting at the regen point.  They quickly rushed over.  The WP player did not respond to them and they checked his pulse.  There was none.  Immediately, Andrew and Ken began CPR while the other players called for help on their FRS radios.  Andrew gave chest compressions while Ken gave mouth to mouth resuscitation.  Despite the heavy aspiration in Steve’s lungs, Ken continued to give direct mouth to mouth resuscitation to someone that was a complete stranger to him.  Word spread quickly and the game was stopped.  Players in the area converged quickly to the scene, including those with lifesaver professions and backgrounds, while others were asked to return to base.  Ed Morlan, a Hatchet Force team member and a volunteer member of Ventura County Search and Rescue, rushed to the scene and immediately began checking the player for medical ID and wounds for signs of possible cause while Ken and Andrew continued their lifesaving efforts.  The chest scar from Steve’s previous heart surgery was immediately noticed.  Someone finally handed a resuscitation mouthguard to Ken to provide a barrier between him and the aspiration that was rising in Steve’s pulmonary system. 

Performing CPR is a very strenuous effort and cannot be sustained for a long period of time.  Ken and Andrew worked until they were exhausted.  Our San Diego store manager, Joe Hulog, who is also an experienced nurse, took over until he also tired and then someone else took over.  Many others with medical experience took turns that day continuously working on Steve while waiting for the paramedics to arrive at their remote location.  Other players around the scene called out encouraging words to Steve and the lifesavers. 

For a long time while the medically trained players worked on saving the player, no one knew who he was.  They were so intent on their CPR and life sign monitoring efforts, they didn’t even know who was working side by side with them or who was standing around them.  Everyone’s focus was entirely on saving the life of a fellow airsoft player, regardless of who he was.  The players not at the scene heard something serious was going on but many were not sure what was happening.  Bill Randolph was a distance away from the scene when he heard the call over the radio about a field emergency.  Thinking that it was probably a case of heatstroke or sprained ankle as had happened at other events, he sat down under a tree and broke out his lunch.  Bill is Steve’s oldest friend (that I know of).  They served together in the US Navy in the mid-80’s as ship radio repairmen.  Steve was Bill’s superior but they developed a close friendship that they have maintained ever since.  Bill recounted to me how Steve supported him after he left the Navy and was looking for a job.  Bill ostensibly was supposed to rent a room at Steve’s place but Bill was broke and Steve never bothered to collect.  Steve also helped Bill find one his first jobs and was Bill’s best man at his wedding.  Ironically, over the years, they ended up in the same profession as medical equipment technicians at competing companies.  Sometime during the resuscitation effort and search for medical or identification, the wallet was found and Steve’s name was called out.  Only then did Joe Hulog and Ed Morlan realized who they were working on and, even though the sense of urgency didn’t change, the effort became a lot more personal for many.  As the word spread, some players who knew Steve or knew of him from other games or visits to our shop were in shock and those who knew him well were overcome with emotion.  Our tech, Mike, took it especially hard since they were about the same age and shared much interests and activities in common.  We all spent many ordinary evenings after the shop closed to socialize at dinner or going to the movies together and with other friends that also hung out at the shop.

About half an hour after CPR was initiated and 911 was called, the paramedics arrived.  Seeing that the players already working on Steve were medically qualified, they allowed the players to continue emergency treatment while they offloaded equipment and called for an emergency airlift.  Joe Hulog administered the IV that the ambulance brought while others continued CPR.  The players finally backed away when the defribillator was brought out and set up to be used by the paramedics.  Several jolts were administered but without success.  Pulse was only felt when chest compression was administered that caused temporary blood flow.  Fluids continued to build in the lungs. 

The helicopter finally arrived and lifted off immediately after Steve was loaded onto it.  Our staff and other close friends immediately left for the hospital in their cars while John Lu, the event organizer, his staff, and the team leaders met and unanimously determined to suspend the game completely.  Many players showed up at the hospital including close friends, airsoft acquaintances, and those who just cared enough to hope for positive news.  Unfortunately, Steve was declared dead on arrival.

STEVE

It was busy at the Torrance store for Joey and me since we were only half-staffed that day when Joe Hulog called me from the field.  I greeted him cheerily (unlike most other times when I’m giving him a hard time as any good tyrannical boss does).  My reaction to his news ranged from disbelief and irritation to a feeling of shock and despair.  After all, I just saw Steve at our shop the day before.  As usual, he left quickly immediately after saying goodbye without waiting around to see if anyone actually heard him; the man sometimes reminds me of a cat, a pet that I have and he had too till his cat passed away last year (we are frustrated wannabe dog owners whose lifestyles aren’t conducive to dog ownership and have cats as poor substitutes).  I could not believe what Joe Hulog was telling me until he broke down over the phone.

 Joe had only met Steve in the past year or so when Joe started working for us and, compared to me and the others in the Torrance shop, knew him only very briefly.  Joe has also had death experiences with patients in hospitals so one would expect a sort of immunity to the emotions of such situations to build up.  I have gone to more than enough funerals over the years of relatives and some friends, including another close airsoft friend, Chad.  Both Steve and I knew him and, couple of years ago, Chad succumbed after a long and painful fight with lung cancer.  As a matter of fact, Chad is standing next to Steve in some of the pictures I have posted on our site where he came out to an airsoft op between bouts of chemotherapy.  This year alone, I have lost close relatives and experienced the near death of my father during surgery.  However, for some reason, none of the recent encounters with death or near death have affected me and Joe as much as Steve’s sudden passing.  Joe told me that our tech, Mike, was emotionally very distraught and they were all heading to the hospital.  As soon as I got off the phone, I pulled Joey, our Torrance store manager, to the back of the shop and told him what happened.  We both stood there in shock for a moment while trying to sort out our feelings.  Almost immediately, we started getting phone calls from players at the game who weren’t near Steve inquiring about Steve’s status.  Word of what happened soon spread and calls of condolences came in from people who knew us but not Steve, those who knew Steve well as a friend, and from those who only knew Steve in passing at games or from visiting our shop.  We also contacted some friends who knew Steve about the tragic news.  Offers of emotional support and offers to assist Steve’s family financially came from the least expected sources in the airsoft community.  Such generosity and unconditional genuine open-heartedness was really touching and reflected so much on Steve’s good-natured character and on the community at large.

Steve was the ultimate divorced bachelor and “big kid”.  Most might say that he was nerdy.  Steve never had a bad word to say about anyone.  He had an ironic sense of humor and sometimes said things that may have not been completely appropriate.  However, he was always genuine so one ever took offense.  He was always willing to help someone out.  That is how many airsofters met him – at an airsoft game or at our shop helping out behind the counter.  He surrounded himself with his hobbies.  He had a vast collection of airsoft guns, all customized in some fashion by himself.  He has a rare and expensive AEG coverted Asahi MP44 that he assembled himself that was the envy of serious airsoft enthusiasts who saw it at our shop during the time it was displayed there.  He often helped our techs, Mike and Erick, troubleshoot gun problems.  He also collected gear and uniforms for airsoft impressions – Russian, modern, Vietnam, Special Forces, WW2, etc.  In his humble two bedroom apartment, he had a room dedicated to his hobbies.  In it is a collection of sixth scale military action figures that were all neatly displayed.  He built plastic models, mostly race cars, built remote control cars, and painted figurines.  He had a small workbench of modeling tools and hobby paints and there was always some project in progress.  He had an N scale train set scenario that he had been working on for years.  He has a collection of classic performance car books and watched anime.  He often played Forza online with Erick where they good-naturedly ribbed each other constantly.  Steve was an avid motorcycle racer years ago and we often went riding on weekends in the canyons or around town by ourselves, with Joey and with other friends.  When he first got his Honda RC51, I regularly reminisced with him about when I used to ride bikes and missed it.  One weekend in 2003, he popped into the shop, found me in the back, and said to me, “Let’s go buy a bike”.  Without another word, I got up and drove with him to a Honda dealer where our friends and fellow airsofters, Nik and JC, worked and I bought a bike.  He helped me ride my new bike back to the shop since it had been almost ten years since I rode and I was intimidated by my new toy, a CBR954RR.  During the mini motorbike craze days, we all bought the cheap little 50cc motorcycles and kept them at the shop.  Four or five of us would race around our parking lot after the shop closed until the landlord informed us of complaints from the other shopping center tenants...  One day, Steve’s foot got caught between the ground and the footpeg and he high-sided.  The minibike flew up and away one way and he flew the other way.  A parked car was blocking the full view of the crash but we saw a small bike wheel fly up over the roofline of the car and a shoe and jean leg fly up in another direction from behind the car.  It was the funniest thing we saw, particularly since he was the only one with race experience and he was wearing leathers and a helmet while most of the rest of us irresponsibly weren’t wearing any protection.  We also went IPSC shooting together along with other airsoft/gun enthusiasts and we took a tactical rifle shooting class together.  Steve bought a used Lotus Seven in traditional British racing green with a yellow stripe last year and he went regularly to a classic car enthusiast club meeting at a local Starbucks.  The store staff bought him WW1 looking aviator goggles as a joke.  Ning Wong and Mike Lee started calling him the Duke of Torrance. 

That tragic Saturday afternoon, Bill and Mike came back to the shop where Steve left his company car.  We found his cellphone and Bill called his family.  We also went to his apartment to make sure it was secure and to find medical information for the police who was investigating as a routine measure.  The small, humbly furnished apartment never felt quieter or lonelier.  We paused frequently to admire something he made or collected.  We counted his airsoft gun collection in amazement and recalled the history of some of them.  We heard a message from his mom on his answering machine that he had saved that gave us emotional pause.  She wanted him to know that she changed her mind and that she decided to support his decision to undergo elective vision correction surgery and that she loved him.  His mother moved to Orange County only this past summer from the Midwest presumably to be near her sons (Steve’s younger brother, Mike, lives in OC).

When we returned to the shop, several other old-time players and friends of Steve were there.  People continued to call in.  After the store closed, we went to dinner to reminisce funny stories about Steve, recall his quirky habits and personality, and talk about our own friendship histories in airsoft like a bunch of octogenarians telling stories of the Great War from their youth.  Bill had found it humorously ironic that Steve spent seven years in the Navy during the twilight of the Cold War defending our country from Communism only to pass away wearing a Russian uniform and playing a Warsaw Pact soldier. 

We will miss the distinctive roar of his bike’s loud exhaust pipes or the brapping sound of his Lotus’s motor as he pulled into our parking lot for one of his almost daily visits.  There will be less coffee runs to Starbucks for us and less Krispy Kreme donuts or King’s Hawaiian baked munchies that he frequently brought to share with us. 

During the search for family contact info in his work-issued PDA phone, I noticed that he organized it between work and personal numbers.  The contacts filtered to personal only contacts which included his family and friends took up what seemed to be no more than two thirds of the small PDA screen.  On one hand, it seemed sad (to me) to see someone who had so much to offer as a person to have so few friends.  On the other hand, Steve was never one to waste time with those he didn’t feel like getting to know better.  Every member of AEX Torrance is proud to be part of that very short contact list of Steve’s closest friends.

THANK YOU

The outpouring of support from the airsoft community during this time of sadness has been incredible and clearly demonstrates the basic goodness in humanity.  I wrote this in hopes that we can all consciously appreciate the camaraderie that airsoft offers and the lifelong friendships that we can develop with people we meet in this hobby.  That anonymous player that you’re shooting at that you mistakenly think is a cheater because you misgauged the effectiveness of your weapon may be someone who may have selflessly tried to save a stranger’s life. 

In particular, I want to make sure that everyone recognizes the airsoft players who heroically and collectively tried to save Steve’s life despite being some being complete strangers with Steve and with each other.  The ones I know about are mentioned in my story.

Andrew Christou
Joe Hulog
Ken Little
Ed Morlan
Mike Meijer
Rob Rutter
John Sanna - Toetaggers
Richard Stoner - Toetaggers

I know that there were others that participated in the lifesaving effort.  If you were one of them or know of their names, please contact me so that I can recognize them here also. 
If anyone wishes to share their thoughts on Steve on this page, please email me also and I will add your story to this tribute. 
Also, will the other Warsaw Pact soldiers that were seen last with Steve contact me?
Email: andrew@airsoftextreme.com

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