Steven Plumhoff was born on 11 March 1970 in Somerville, NJ, the son of German immigrants. Steven graduated from Somerville High School in 1988 and had dreams of either writing fiction or flying helicopters. He opted for helicopters after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy with the class of 1992.

Steven began his pilot training at the old Reese Air Force Base near Lubbock, TX, and served at Hill Air Force Base, UT, before his first assignment at Kirtland Air Force Base, NM, in 1995, for further training. After Kirtland, Plumhoff served in the Air Force's elite Special Operations Branch, first at Osan Air Base, South Korea, and later at Royal Air Force Station Mildenhall, England.

Even in the service's elite group, colleagues said Plumhoff stood out. He kept himself in tip-top physical shape and strived to know something about almost everything. He was a top Pave Low pilot, computer guru and sports trivia master. He also loved hockey and music. Details mattered to him. No one could match the shine of his combat boots - it was his trademark. For being so extraordinary, Plumhoff remained well-liked, and respected, by everyone around him. But it was his ability to do low night flights to deploy special operations troops which brought him respect from his peers. Steven's favorite saying was "No worries, it's all good."

He worked his way up through Air Force duties and ranks, starting as a Pave Low co-pilot and becoming a group safety officer, one of the most important duties in preventing accidents. In 1999, as NATO aircraft bombed Serbia to force Serb troops out of Kosovo, Plumhoff helped organize search-and-rescue operations that saved two U.S. pilots, including one from a downed F-117A stealth fighter jet from Holloman Air Force Base. In 2001 he returned to Kirtland. Steven was deployed from Kirtland in mid-October on a 60-day mission overseas and was to be back by Christmas.

Major Plumhoff was assigned to the 58th Operations Squadron, Kirtland Air Force Base. The 58th is a training wing for pilots and crews in the Air Force's Special Operations field. The service performs various covert, rescue and other missions overseas. The wing assists domestically with search and rescues. On 23 November 2003, during a tour in Afghanistan, Plumhoff was serving as pilot onboard an MH-53 Pave Low helicopter conducting combat operations for 'Operation Mountain Resolve' when it crashed nine miles east of Bagram Air Base.

$10 from each bracelet sold will go to a charity chosen by Steven's family.