Mayor Gary Moore and Kewanee Veterans Council President Glenn Morey, take a moment to admire the wreath they have just laid at the memorial in Veteran’s Park, a feature of Monday’s Memorial Day program. [Photo by Dave Clarke]

Kewanee remembered those who died so we could be free in a moving Memorial Day program held on a sunny Monday morning under the shade of the towering shade trees in Veteran’s Park.

A large crowd stood and sat in lawn chairs across the lawn in front of city hall as thoughts and memories were shared along with the names of some of the veterans who have left us over the past year.

The keynote speaker was former Staff Sgt. Timothy “T.J.” Giesenhagen, who served nearly 17 years as a combat engineer in the U.S. Army, retiring in 2016 as a Staff Sgt.

Jerry Thompson, master of ceremonies at Monday’s Memorial Day program thanks guest speaker T.J. Giesenhagen of Kewanee, who served nearly 17 years as a combat engineer in the U.S. Army. [Photo by Dave Clarke]

A 1999 graduate of Kewanee High School, Giesenhagen said after graduation he was headed in no particular direction when he decided, almost on a whim, to join the Army.

“I called the recruiter and he said he could be here in two weeks and I told him I might change my mind by tomorrow.”

The recruiter came the next day and signed him up. As a private he met a young officer who became his inspiration because of his toughness as a leader and his commitment to duty and country.

His name was Paul R. Smith, of Tampa Bay, Fla. Giesenhagen remembers seeing Sgt. 1st Class Smith briefly and exchanged a few words just before Smith deployed to Iraq. That was the last time he was to see his hero. Smith, 33, was killed in action when his outnumbered unit was attacked by Iraqi forces near the Baghdad Airport on April 4, 2003. Smith’s engineers were supporting an infantry regiment assigned to block a highway near the airport.

While building an impromptu enclosure in a courtyard to hold captured Iraqis, his unit came under fire from enemy forces. Smith took command and manned the machine gun of an armored personnel carrier and fought to protect 100 combat casualties in a crowded military aid station behind the enclosure. As the battle ended, Smith’s comrades found him slumped in the turret hatch of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle with 13 bullet holes peppering his armored vest. The fatal shot had entered his neck and passed through the brain, killing him. He posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his bravery on April 4, 2005, two years later to the day, from President George W. Bush.

Giesenhagen said stories like Sgt. Smith’s must be told and retold, not just on Memorial Day, but as the days and years go by so we, as Americans, don’t forget those who gave their lives so we can enjoy our freedom.

“Today we must both grieve and celebrate,” Giesenhagen said.

The trombone section of the Kewanee High School Band “pours on the brass” for the “Armed Services Medley,” one of several selections the band played at the Memorial Day service. [Photo by Dave Clarke]

Jerry Thompson, financial officer of the Kewanee Veterans Council, said members of local veterans’ organizations and volunteers put American flags on the graves of over 3,500 veterans in Kewanee and nearby cemeteries on Friday. They will be removed June 7. He also read the names of the 25 veterans for whose funerals the color guard has performed military rites since last Memorial Day.

Comments were made by Mayor Gary Moore and the mayor and Glenn Morey, KVC president and a Marine Corps veteran, laid a wreath at the Memorial to Veterans of all Wars in the park.

John Blake plays taps as the Kewanee Veterans Council’s firing squad closes Monday’s Memorial Day program with a volley of rifle fire saluting those who have fallen in service to their country. [Photo by Dave Clarke]

Musical selections were performed by the Kewanee High School Band directed by Alex Binek and Brittany Krohn.