Page 43 - DFCS NEWS MAGAZINE 2018-2

Miroslav “Steven” Zilberman
A True American Hero
By Chuck Sweeney
Sometimes things seem to come out of nowhere that have a very dramatic impact on you and makes you reflect on your life. This happened to me in November 2017.
I opened an envelope from the DFCS office and there was a twelve- page letter personally addressed to me as President of The DFC Society. As I began reading the letter, it brought tears to my eyes as it was from a very distraught mother who had lost her only son seven years before and wanted my help in publishing his story.
Anna Sokolov, Miroslav “Steven” Zilberman’s mother, had included an eleven-page synopsis of the book that she wanted published. It included the family history of living in Kiev, Ukraine during WWII, the anti-Semitism under the Soviets and finally, their immigration to America. Interspersed with all this is the background of the fateful flight on March 31, 2010.
I suggested a couple of people for Anna to contact but that didn’t seem to pan out and she said that they were going to self-publish the book. She and her husband Boris had commissioned David Guy to write it.
The book, “Flight to Eternity”, was written in Russian and translated into English and is available on Amazon. Anna stayed in touch with me, entered Steven into the DFC Society posthumously and requested that I write a letter to be included in the book, which I gladly did.
“Flight to Eternity” is the story of a Ukrainian boy who grew up to become a true American hero. He enlisted in the Navy and had an opportunity to go to the Naval Academy but that
didn’t happen as he decided to marry his high school sweetheart Katrina. He eventually enrolled in the NROTC program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY earning a BS in Computer Science. While there, Steven developed a passion for flying and eventually went through flight training while he and Katrina had their first child there.
He became a Naval Aviator flying the E-2C Hawkeye from the flight decks of aircraft carriers. The E-2C Hawkeye is based,
airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft
an all-weather, twin-turboprop,
carrier
VAW-121 “Bluetails” E-2C Hawkeye.
ordinarily flown with a crew of five.
In 2010, Steven was a Lieutenant assigned
to VAW 121 (the “Bluetails”) flying off the USS
Dwight Eisenhower (CVN-69) conducting
operations against Afghanistan terrorists
under Operation Enduring Freedom. By this
time Steven or “Abrek” (which was his call
sign) had qualified in his spare time as a
Landing Signal Officer (LSO), who had final
control over every aircraft landing.
He was approaching the end of his tour
but had extended one month at the request
of his Commanding Officer. He was also
planning on leaving aviation and transitioning
to the medical field.
44 / DFCS News Magazine / WINTER 2018