The Honorable Thomas E. Hartman, Mayor, by Executive Order in the Year of Our Lord 2009, has decreed that a permanent Virtual Memorial be established on the pages of the Galva Website honoring those men and women, living and dead, from the City of Galva that have served or are serving their country in our nation’s armed forces.
Many of the veterans we honor here have only a tangential connection to our fair city. However slight the connection, circumstances dictated that many of those should receive their final resting place in our cemetery; hence, we are determined to honor their service on this page; we are determined to embrace them as Galvans; we are determined that they will not be forgotten.
Others served that were born, lived and perhaps even died within the corporate limits or our humble municipality but have their final resting place elsewhere: some in foreign lands, some in national cemeteries, others in cities and states that lay claim to them on their passing. All are sons of Galva, and we honor them on this page.
Those That Forfeited Life In Service To Their Country
Honoring Those That Served and Those Serving…
A lone cannon stands guard at Shiloh, TN, where Galvan Ephraim Dunn, a corporal in the Union Army, perished on the field of battle during the Battle of Shiloh. You can learn more about the Battle of Shiloh and the Shiloh National Military Park on the National Parks Service Website.
Galvan Edward McKeon, Private, Company G, 112 IL US Infantry, perished 9 August, 1864 from wounds received at the Battle of Utoy Creek, Georgia, on 9 August, 1864.
Edward was buried in National Cemetery at Marietta, GA, in grave #5300, Section F.
We are eternally grateful for his sacrifice.
Alexander W. Albro
Ira Michael Alderman
James K. Alderman
Obediah J. Alderman
John H. Alexander
Peter E. Anderson
David L. Ash
John H. Ash
William P. Barnes
David E. Baronet
Francis D. Bates
Reuben F. Beals
Robert G. Bell
Isaac Berry
James D. Blood
David Boggs
Elijah Boggs
James E. Brekenridge
Edwin C. Brown
Erastus D. Brown
Francis Brown
William P. Bryson
Franklin Buckley
Stewart M. Butt
Henry Bush
Edward A, Cardiff
William F. Cardiff
Campbell D. Chollette
David C. Chollette
Dewitt C. Coates
Asbuty C. Cochran
Charles Collinson
Ziba Alden Cook
John Corkill
Robert Corkill
John Corlett
Jeffrey Cragan
T. W. Crawford
William Crawford
William H. Crissman
Orrin M. Cross
John Crow
Hiram King
Olof G. Krans
William H. Lacy
William H. Larson
William Leath
Ezra Litten
John Looney
Jediah Luce
Ezra S. Dean
Charles V. Dickinson
Robert A. Donnelly
William H. Dugan
William L. Duncan
Ephraim Dunn
William H. Dwire
Rollin H. Edgerton
William H. Elkins
John Emery
Michael N. Emery
William E. Emery
Peter Engstrom
Richard G. Espy
Daniel Ferrell
Elmer E. Fitch
Nelson Flansburg
Eli C. Furgeson
James B. Gaster
Charles G. Gibbs
Clayton Gibbs
Joseph P. Gibbs
S. J. Gibson
David Gillette
Isaac Grant
Hans Gree
William A. Grove, Dr.
James Grow
Levi Hager
Eric Hanson
Olof Hanson
John Hawkins
George W. Hempstead
James S. Herbert
George W. Hough
Royal A. Houghton
Hiram W. Hubbard
Mason Huffman
John Humphrey
Peter Ingberg
Peter H. Johnson
Swan Peter Johnson
Romeo W. Jones
Phillip Killey
Leeman Mallory
Olaf Mathews
Eli K. Mauck
Henry A. Mcbride
William Mcbride Jr.
John Mccabe
James Mccarney
Rufus H. Mckane
Edward Mckeon
Robert R. Mcmillan
Charles Mealman
Henry W. Mefford
Henry S. Middaugh
Thomas E. Milchrist
Frederick G. Miles
Allen Ford Miller
Morris C. Miller
George W. Mobrey
Lewis E. Morton
James H. Murray
Jonas Naslund
Homer A. Nichols
Arthur S. Nott
John Otterstrom
John O. Patterson
George W. Potter
Rufus H. Pratt
John H. Reed
William Porter Reed
Frank Reynolds
Charles Rockafellow
David A. Shaffer
Daniel W. Sheahan
John Nelson Sherman
Edward L. Short
Albert Shue
H. W. Shurtliff
William O. Shurtliff
William Shurtz
Charles Smith
Herman P. Smith
William E. Smith
Henry M. Soper
William Spaulding
Matarn Sphar
Isaac Sprouse
William D. Taggert
Warfield B. Todd
Thomas J. Townsend
James F. Vance
William H. Walker
Wiliam Waterson
Peter M. Wickstrom
Daniel A. Wilbur
Charles W. Williams
Frederick Winger
Edward P. Wright
Civil War – Unmarked But Not Forgotten
Information provided by the Illinois Veteran’s Commission dated 1 October, 1956, lists the following veterans of the Civil War that are buried in the Galva cemetery without a tombstone to mark the grave:
Ira Michael Alderman
David Baronett
Reuben F. Beals
Issac Berry
Peter Engstrom
Richard G. Espey
David Gillette
Hans Gree
George Hempstead
Royal A. Houghton
Hiram W. Hubbard
Peter H. Johnson
Jedian Luce
Olaf Mathews
George W. Mobrey
William H. Shurtliff
James Vance
If you would like to provide a headstone for one of these veterans, please call city hall at (309) 932-2555.
William Glacken’s depiction of the assault on San Juan Hill, overlooking Santiago, Cuba.
For more on the Spanish – American War, visit the Library of Congress website – The World of 1898: The Spanish-American War
In Good Company: “From North and South and East and West-From city, farm, and plain-Loud comes a cry will never rest-For vengeance unto Spain.”
–from “Remember the Maine” by N. A. Jennings and W. A. Phillips.
Our Spanish-American War Veterans
Henry County’s unit in this war consisted of Company B, Sixth Infantry, Illinois National Guard.
John Albro
George W. Boggs
Ira Cardiff
Horace A. Crain
W. E. Hanson
Karl Krans
Sam Mendel
Cliff Soper
Black Jack Pershing
General John “Black Jack” Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force, World War I.
Pershing ordered Galvans into battle at Belleau Woods, St. Mihiel, and the Meuse-Argonne.
From The Battlefield
“Three thousand miles from home, an American army is fighting for you. Everything you hold worthwhile is at stake. Only the hardest blows can win against the enemy we are fighting. Invoking the spirit of our forefathers, the army asks your unflinching support; to the end that the high ideals for which America stands may endure upon the earth.” —General John Pershing
An audio recording of General Pershing’s admonition to the American people is below, courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Wilbur L. Hagberg
Galvan Wilbur L. Hagburg was mortally wounded at St. Mihiel. We are eternally grateful for his sacrifice.
Deeply regret to inform you that Pvt. Wilbur Hagberg, Infantry, is officially reported as killed in action Sept. 14.
It was on November 20, 1918, when the telegram from the Adjutant General’s office in Washington arrived at the Galva home of the parents, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Hagberg, 925 West Division St., more than two months after his death at the age of 29.
Wilbur Lawrence Hagberg was the only Galva-Bishop Hill area soldier to be killed in action during World War I. The local American Legion post was named in his memory and later his name was joined by that of Dale Hamlin, the first Galva serviceman to die in World War II.
On each Memorial day a brief memorial service is conducted at the grave of Wilbur Hagberg in Bishop Hill cemetery.
Wilbur Hagberg’s death came only four and one-half months after he entered service April 30, 1918, when he went to Camp Dodge, Iowa, with a Henry County draft contingent from Cambridge. Wilbur had been a partner of Bert Cole in a garage on Market Street here, but sold his interest to Fred Morley before entering service.
He was stationed at Camp dodge three weeks and then was at Camp Travis, Texas, three weeks. After only six weeks of training he received his overseas orders and landed at LeHavre, France, July 5.
In France, he was assigned to the 90th Division, Co. F of the 357th Regiment.
By mid-October, there were fears among members of his family and his friends that Wilbur might have been killed in action.
There was an ominous message in a letter received October 21 by Miss Nettie Englund, of Altona, a friend of Wilbur, written a month earlier by Earl Fitzpatrick, a member of Co. L, 357th:
Friend Nettie: If you will allow me to call you friend. I am sending you some things that were given me to mail. I feel sorry for the poor boy and also for you folks over there when you hear the bad news. I am in hospital 51 now. I was in the same drive with him.
The items sent included Wilbur’s identification and a photo of Miss Englund which had been in his possession.
An inquiry sent to Red Cross headquarters in Washington resulted in this reply:
Have no record of your son wounded or dead.
His last letter, written September 6, eight says before his death, was received September 23.
Later, a letter was received by his brother Ralph from Sgt. George C. Stewart, who said Cpl. Walter West, of Woodward, Oklahoma, was only two or three feet from Wilbur when he was hit.
In the second push on the St. Mihiel front on the morning of September 14, 1918, Co. F was advancing over very difficult terrain when the platoon encountered a machine gun nest.
Your brother was firing an automatic rifle when he was struck in the right side of the chest with a machine gun bullet, the bullet piercing the heart and coming thru the body on the left side of the chest. it was a straight shot and death was instantaneous.
He was laid to rest on the hillside above the St. Maire farm, by a small railroad. He and two other men were buried in a shell hole near the place where they fell. He fell fighting gallantly…
A memorial service was conducted May 4, 1919, at the First Methodist Church by the Rev. Bartle.
The body was returned to the United States in 1921, with a final service June 26, and burial in Bishop Hill cemetery.
–George Swank, Galvaland Magazine, October 1963
Our World War I Veterans
Emil G. Anderson
Arthur R. Beals
Don Cameron Bell
George W. Boggs
Mark E. Brown
Marion Vern Brown
Forrest H. Carter
Alexander Charlton
Gjerluf L. Christensen
Robert Christian
Carl G. Dahlgren
Elmer Danielson
Alfred W. Danielson
Arthur E. Edwall
Axel Leonard Edwall
Robert H. Eiker
Howard K. Ericson
Carl C. Fahnstrom
Herbert F. Flack
Fred Lloyd Galbert
Roy A. Gibbs
Fred I. Gray
Lloyd S. Gustafson
Louis R. P. Hansen
Gilbert Headley
Leslie R. Huber
Raymond H. Hurlbutt
George Maurice Kermeen
Glen H. Kermeem
John A. Kinvig
William E. Leaf
Walter J. Larson
Otto Reuben Lindahl
Harry Mabes
Howard G. Magnuson
Don Killip Manley
Robert S. Miller
Walter L. Mortenson
John E. Mugrace
Theodore Benton Patton
Axel A. Peterson
George R. Peterson
Louis Ralph Peterson
Glenn William Reed
Harry Riesebieter
Patrick Roser
Carl Fredrick Schwab
John C. Sheahan
Amil E. Shostrom
Edwin L. Stephenson
Archie Glee Stotts
Virdi Warren Thomas
George A. Todd
Cleveland Warden
Dale N. West
Charles R. Williams
Curtis W. Wood
Raymond H. Hurlbutt
F. Chester Peterson
Rudolph M. Nordeen
War Memories
Dr. Willard H. Waterous, who had been in Manila since 1923 was recalled to active duty as a major in the Medical Corp at the outbreak of the war. He was on duty at hospital No. 2 in Bataan until it was taken by the Japanese, 9 April, 1942. Dr. Waterous was a prisoner of war until freed by U.S. forces in February of 1945.
Glenn Binge, who arrived at Wake Island with a construction crew one month before Pearl Harbor, experienced the savagery of the Japanese attack which came a few hours after the raid on Pearl Harbor. The gallant garrison at Wake was overwhelmed two days before Christmas and 1,603 men were taken prisoner.
After five months as a German POW, Verlin Jackson was freed in May, 1945, when the 2nd Armored Division advanced through Germany. Verlin was taken prisoner in December, 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge when the Germans overran his unit near St. Vith. “The timely arrival of the 7th Armored was due to the resistance of determined American units in the front lines of the VIII Corps Area, including the entrapped 106th Infantry Division, of which the survivors of the two regimental combat teams ultimately surrendered.” Verlin was with the 424th Infantry Regiment, 106th Division.
We Will Remember You
Dale R. Hamlin
Dale Hamlin perished aboard the USS Oklahoma, 7 December, 1941.
The USS Oklahoma was Dale Hamlin’s ship at Pearl Harbor, and when it was hit by five Japanese torpedoes, Dale was the first Galva youth to lose his live in World War II. He was twenty-five.
Dale had been in the navy for more than four years, having enlisted in November, 1937. He received his training at Great Lakes, was transferred to the West Coast and assigned to the Oklahoma with the rank of gunner’s mate, 3rd class.
Dale’s first military training came in April, 1937, when he and his brother Earl joined Galva’s newly activated National Guard battery. Earl went with the Guardsmen to Camp Forrest in 1940.
Dale and Earl’s younger brother, Harry, was at Pearl Harbor at the time of the December 7 attack engaged in weather observation duties aboard the USS Curtis.
The parents of the boys, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Hamlin, received notification that Dale was “missing” from Dale’s wife, the former Marjory Moergeli of Tacoma, Washington. The news arrived three days before Christmas.
Confirmation of Dale’s death came late in February, 1942, after which a memorial service was held on 29 March at the Galva First Methodist Church.
Dale’s body was eventually recovered from the wreckage of the USS Oklahoma and returned for burial in the Galva Cemetery over seven years later on 10 May, 1949.
–adapted from GalvaLand Magazine, December, 1962 and June, 1984
James R. Warren
James Warren perished in the air over Sicily during Operation Husky, 9-10 July, 1943.
A young Galva paratrooper of the 82nd Airborne Division was among 410 U.S. soldiers killed during one the tragic errors of World War II when 23 transport planes were shot down by our own Navy and Army gunners in the invasion of Italy in July of 1943.
He was James R. Warren, 20, a son of Mrs. Ruth Carlson (Warren) Hickle and a grandson of Mr. and Mrs. P. A. Carlson, of Galva, with whom he resided while attending school here.
The body of young Warren, the first Galvan to die in the European Combat Zone, was never recovered from the coastal waters off Sicily.
–GalvaLand Magazine, July-August, 1973
Chrles Robert Briggs
Charles R. Briggs perished in a bomber crash near Albuquerque, New Mexico, 26 July, 1943.
2nd Lt. Charles Robert Briggs, 20, was killed July 28, 1943, in the crash of a four-engine bomber near Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the vicinity of Belen, when the plane exploded during a routine flight. Eight other men were killed.
The Galva officer’s death occurred three months after he received his commission at Columbus, Mississippi. He had enlisted in the Air Force March 3, 1942.
Robert was the son of Mrs. Marie Williams Briggs, of Galva, and Dewey P. Briggs of Springfield.
Military rites were conducted in Galva cemetery August 3.
–GalvaLand Magazine, July-August, 1973
Eugene F. “Bud” Schmitt
Eugene Schmitt perished in the air over Germany, 13 February, 1944.
Tech. Sgt. Eugene F. “Bud” Schmitt, 25, was killed during a bombing mission over Germany on 13 February, 1944.
Bud, a 1936 graduate of Galva High School, enlisted in the Air Corps in September, 1940, and was sent to Scott Field, Belleville.
–GalvaLand Magazine, January-February, 1974
Lawrence E. Larson
Lawrence E. Larson perished in the air over Germany, 29 May, 1944.
Lt. Lawrence E. Larson, pilot of a B-24, lost his life May 29, 1944, during an air mission over Germany from his base in England, only about two weeks before his 26th birthday.
Lawrence graduated from Galva High School in 1936, and after receiving his degree from Illinois College in Jacksonville, entered the service in August, 1941.
He received his wings and commission at Douglas AF base in Arizona, July 28, 1943, and was assigned to overseas duty the following March.
The Air Medal which he had earned was presented posthumously at a ceremony in Flagstaff, Arizona, early in 1945 and was accepted by his widow, the former Marjorie Scherman.
Internment was in a permanent American Cemetery near Metz, France.
–GalvaLand Magazine, June, 1984
Robert R. Lapan
Robert R. Lapan perished in the assault on Saipan, 17 June, 1944.
The name of Robert R. Lapan, a 21 year old Galva youth, was on the casualty lists from the South Pacific where there was a heavy toll during the invasion of Saipan, one of the coral islands in the Mariannas. Robert was killed June 17, 1944, with the assault force of the 2nd Marine Division.
Robert graduated from Galva High School in 1941 and enlisted in the Marine Corps in December, 1942. After training at Camp Elliott, California, the 2nd Marine Division sailed for New Zealand and more training.
The invasion of Tarawa in November, 1943, preceded the landing at Saipan and that tragic day-June 17, 1944.
–GalvaLand Magazine, June, 1984
LaVerne M. Brown
Laverne M. Brown perished on the Island of Guam, 24 July, 1944.
LaVerne M. Brown, 21, son of Mr. and Mrs. Mark E. Brown, of Galva, died July 24, 1944, of wounds received during the Battle of Guam while serving in a Marine unit.
His body was returned to the United Stated in the spring of 1948 and internment was in Aledo on April 22.
–GalvaLand Magazine, September, 1984
Richard Coyle
Richard Coyle perished in Normandy, France on 26 July, 1944.
Seven weeks after D-Day in Normandy, France, Richard P. Coyle was killed in action July 26, 1944, while serving with the 5th (Red Diamond) Division, which entered combat early in July and was attacking in the vicinity of St. Lo.
First news that Richard was missing in action was received by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Coyle, on August 14, and confirmation of his death arrived a week later.
He was inducted April 11, 1944, and after training at Fort Custer, Michigan, was discharged in November because of age regulations. He was recalled to service in February, 1943, and went overseas in April.
A memorial service was held in St. John’s Church here September 4, that year. Permanent burial rites were conducted in the American cemetery at St. Laurent-sur-Mer near the Normandy coast in the spring of 1949.
–GalvaLand Magazine, July-August, 1974
John Colfer
John Colfer, perished in the air over Yugosloavia, 21 November, 1944.
John T. Colfer, 2nd Lt., U.S. Air Force, lost his life during a bomber mission over Yugoslavia on November 21, 1944. The only son of Thomas and Mary Colfer, of Galva, had completed 25 missions during the four months after his arrival overseas in July, 1944.
John is buried in the United States Military Cemetery near Florence, Italy. His sister, Mary Colfer Irvine visited John’s grave in the summer of 1950 and had these words published in the GalvaLand Magazine:
“If anyone from the Galva area visits Florence, ask at the office for the location of the grave of John T. Colfer. Right near his grave is a grave marked, ‘Three Known But to God.’ All those years and their families still don’t know where they are.”
–adapted from GalvaLand Magazine, March-April, 1995
Herschel Deffenbaugh
Hershel Deffenbaugh perished on the Island of Iwo Jima, 22 February, 1945.
Herschel Deffenbaugh, 21-year old son of Mr. and Mrs. William Deffenbaugh, was killed February 22, 1945, while serving with a Marine Division on Iwo Jima.
Three other Deffenbaugh sons were in the Armed Forces at the time – Richard, Clifton and Merlin.
It was three days after the landing that Hershel was killed.
–adapted from GalvaLand Magazine, July-August, 1973 and September, 1984
Jack W. Fansler
Jack W. Fansler perished on the Island of Iwo Jima, 8 March, 1945.
Jack W. Fansler, 22 years old when he died, was killed less than three weeks after the landing on Iwo Jima, March 8, 1945 while serving with the 4th Marine Division.
He was the son of Walter Fansler of Altona, and lived in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew McClure, of Galva, after the death of his mother when he was ten.
Jack’s brother, Walter, was killed in Europe seven months earlier on August 12, 1944.
–adapted from GalvaLand Magazine, September, 1983
Harold G. Dutton
Harold G. Dutton, 24, a first lieutenant with a tank destroyer unit was killed in Germany. He was a member of Galva National Guard at the time it entered federal service and went to Camp Forrest, Tennessee, in 1941. –GalvaLand Magazine, March-April, 1973
Lawrence “Jack” Hagney
Lawrence “Jack” Hagney perished in Germany, 2 April, 1945.
The guns were still firing and the casualties continued to mount during April, 1945.
It was on April 2 when an 18-year old Galva youth, Lawrence A. (Jack) Hagney, paid the ultimate sacrifice, only a little more than one month before V-E Day. He was serving with the 9th Armored Division.
It was less than a year after he graduated from Galva High School and only about nine months after he had enlisted.
He was a son of Mr. and Mrs. L. A. Hagney, of Galva, and the body was returned to Havana, Illinois, where the family formerly resided, for burial in November, 1948.
–GalvaLand Magazine, March-April, 1973
John L. Carr
John Carr, perished in the air over Honshu, 26 June, 1945.
John L. Carr, Major, United States Air Force, was 26 years old when the Super Fortress of which he was pilot took off from the base of the 594th Bomb Group in the Marianas on a mission over Honshu, the main island of Japan The date was June 26, 1945.
His plane received intense fire from Japanese fighters and when other crew members were wounded his first concern was to aid them.
Major Carr lost his life on that day when the end of the war in the Pacific was so near. His body was never recovered, but the Silver Star was awarded posthumously for his efforts on behalf of his crew.
Later, when the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific was established on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu, the name of Major John L. Carr was inscribed on stone along with more than 20,000 others whose “earthly resting place is known only to God.”
–GalvaLand Magazine, September, 1984
Harold Kewish
Harold Kewish died in a fighter plane crash near Abiline, TX, 15 June, 1945.
The crash of a fighter plane near Abilene, Texas, on June 15, 1945, claimed the life of 1st Lt. Harold S. Kewish, 21, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Kewish.
Harold had enlisted in the Army Air Corps in October, 1942, and the orders for his overseas assignment were cancelled after V-E Day.
Services were held in LaFayette Methodist Church June 19 and burial was in Galva Cemetery.
–GalvaLand Magazine, January-February, 1976
Kenneth Berg
Kenneth Berg died in a service hospital in Tokyo, 17 January, 1946.
Flight Officer Kenneth E. Berg, 23, died January 17, 1946 in a service hospital in Tokyo as the result of a heart ailment which developed after an attack of pneumonia.
Kenneth was a glider pilot and had been scheduled to return to the States after 14 months overseas.
–GalvaLand Magazine, January-February, 1976
Our World War II Veterans
John M. Alford
Raymond E. Anderson
Gideon Barlow
Kenneth Eugene Berg
Robert Grant Blake
Charles Briggs
Laverne M. Brown
John Carr
John Colfer
Jack Collinson
Perry Collinson
John H. Collister
Richard Coyle
Clifton Deffenbaugh
Herschel Deffenbaugh
Merlin Deffenbaugh
Richard Deffenbaugh
Ralph W. Dolk
Harold Dutton
Jack Fansler
Fred Robert Ferrell
Lawrence Hagney
Dale Reuben Hamlin
Harry Hamlin
Thomas J. Hanlon
Dale Horton
Howard D. Hulstrom
Edward Jackson
Everett Jackson
Donald Howard Johnson
Edward L. Johnson
Norman L. Kenney
Robert R. Lapan
Lawrence Larson
Robert K. Lindstedt
Mervyn H. Looney
Milton Arhibald Murphy
Verne Mortenson
Carl Okerstromof
Dale Otterstrom
Donald Otterstrom
Howard Otterstrom
Ralph O. Peterson
Lewis Polansky
Robert A. Quinney
Meade “Cotton” Robinson
Robert C. Robinson
Eugene Schmitt
Forest Sundquist
Florence Swank
George Swank
John Thompson
Donald V. Troline
Melvin Walker Jr.
James Warren
Willard H. Waterous
Philip T. Wiedenhoeft
Richard H. Winter, Sr.
Tell America T.V.
Now on YouTube, Tell America programs open by presenting news from the Korean War Veterans Association, information about veterans who have been returned to this country for burial from Korea, and a commentary that is befitting of the Association.
Tell America features thirty minutes of subject matter concerning the Korean War, such as: the Inchon Landing, the Pusan Perimeter, and the Chosin Reservoir.
The program also runs a number of features recognizing Medal of Honor recipients including Sgt. Woodrow Keeble, Col. James Stone, Cpl. Ronald Rosser, Cpl. Hiroshi Miyamura, and Cpl. Duane Dewey.
War Links
Our Korean War Veterans
Robert L. Abbott
John M. Alford
John Alstrom
Willard Alverson
Dale H. Anderson
Elton A. Anderson
Eugene Anderson
John A. Anderson
Keith Anderson
Roger L. Anderson
Raymond Behnke
Mylrole Belford
Wilbur Berg
Don Betz
Bernard Bradley Jr.
Theodore Briegel
Leonard Brooks
James Bryan
William Bunch
William Burgin
Edgar Burnett Jr.
William Burnett
Donald Cain
Laverne Carlson
Robert Clucas
Harold Dean Collinson
James Collinson
Phillip Collinson
Roger Lee Collinson
Donald L. Coon
Richard Coyle
Frank Craine
Bernard Cromien
Frank Decrane
Francis Dobilinski
Ralph Dolk
Kyle Doss
Daryl Durant
Arlo Edwall
Carl Edwall
Donald L. Ericson
Keith Everett
Leland Everett
Benny Florine
Hubert D. Franks
Gale W. Ford
Peter T. Forest
Bill Gartin
Donald German
James Gibbs
James H. Gibbs
Merrill Gibbs
Ivan L. Goodrich
Wendell Griffin
Harry Hamlin
Don Henderliter
Charles Hernstrom
Robert Hernstrom
Vernon Hiatt
Dale Horton
Harold Huber
Roland Huber
Russell Huber
Virgil Hurlbutt
Warren Hutson
Don Ivie
Willis Ivie
Edwin Jackson
Everett Jackson
Lowell Jackson
Oscar Jackson
Arnold George Jacobs
David Johnson
Dean Johnson
Gelnn F. Johnson
Neil Johnson
James Jones
Robert Keener
John Kehr
Derollo Kelly
Benny Kermeen
David Kermeen
Donald Kermeen
Louis M. Kerner
Richard Kerner
James Lambert
Lawrence Lambert
Harold H. Lapan
Roger Lapan
Dale Larson
Frank M. Larson Jr.
Harold Junior Larson
John L. Larson
Lewis Larson
Willard Larson
Leroy Lawrence
John Layton
Harry Lempke Jr.
Richard Lewin
Clyde Lind
Albert Longley
John W. Lord
James Loveall
Kenneth Manning
Raymond Marlow
Edwin Massingill
Robert Mcadam
Mervin Mclaughlin
Robert Miller
William Mohnen
Verne Mortenson
Arlo M. Nash
Thomas Neice
Donald Nelson
Gerald Nelson
Harlan Nelson
James Nelson
Walter I. Nelson
Edward Newell
Arthur Norbom
Lee Odell
Donald Olson
Roger Olson
Floyd C. Palm
Dale Peterson
William J. Peterson
Kenneth Pierce
Raymond Pierce
Allen Pabanz
James Quanstrom
Dale Reid
John Reid
Richard Reid
Robert Resseguie
Eugene Rose
Harold Rose
Shirley Sall
Axel Sandstrom
Holt Sandstrom
Harold Schiafman
Paul Schwab
Scyrill Sherman
Lloyd Smith
Robert Soderburg
Paul Stephenson
James Strom
William Swank
Thomas Thompson
Harold Tobin
Emery Todd
Howard J. Torbin
Richard Tucker
Andrew Viers
Marvin Warner
Joe Wenckus
Dale Werkheiser
Vernon T. Wilson
Glenn E. Winter
Arthur Woods
Louis Westlin
John Zetterberg
John E. Kellet
Infantryman John Kellet perished during the Vietnam War. He is memorialized on a stone which may be viewed in Veteran’s Park.
Galvan John Kellett was mortally wounded on the field of battle 12 June, 1968, Quang Tin Province, South Vietnam.
He succumbed to his wounds five days later, 17 June, 1968.
We are eternally grateful for his sacrifice.
Please view John’s Memorial Page on the Virtual Wall of the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial.
The casket arrived at the Quad City Airport, Moline, at 8:10 Tuesday evening, June 23, after the flight from Oakland, California, where Bernard Lipke became the official honor guard when he reached the west coast from Vietnam.
John was seriously wounded on June 12 when he stepped on a booby trap while on patrol. Both legs were broken and he sustained internal injuries, as well as deep cuts on his face and neck. A telegram to his parents described the wounds as serious and it was five days later, at 7:30 a.m., June 17, when the end came. An army officer from Galesburg informed the Kelletts of his death.
It was the second time in less than three months that John had been wounded. A grenade caused wounds on March 28, and he was hospitalized 10 days or two weeks before returning to duty.
In the family home at 410 Southeast 1st Street, his mother discussed John’s military service and how his letters told of the number of days he had left to serve in Vietnam.
After graduation from high school in 1965, he entered Southern Illinois University at Carbondale for the 1965-66 term and was enrolled in Black Hawk college, Moline, during the first semester of the 1966-67 term.
On June 29, 1967, John was inducted into the Army and received his basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri, after which he was transferred to Ft. Polk, Louisiana.
His parents went to Ft. Polk in November to visit him and he came home at Thanksgiving time for a 21 day furlough, until December 17. Then John traveled by plane to Ft. Lewis, Washington, from where he called home on the 19th:
“In 20 minutes I’ll be on the plane for Vietnam.”
He arrived there on the 20th and was assigned to the 198th Light Infantry Brigade. Latter, he was transferred to the 196th Light Infantry Brigade, Co. D-3, 21st Infantry, which was his outfit at the time he was wounded.
John was born in Princeton on October 23, 1947, and was the only child of Robert and Frances Wade Kellett.
–excerpted from Galvaland Magazine, July 1968
In addition to John Kellett of Galva, the following area men, former residents, or kin of Galvans, died as a result of combat in Vietnam:
Forrest E. Cain, 8/5/67
John L. Catton, 6/2/67
Michael L. Pheiffer, 4/17/68
Todd E. Swanson, 3/68
Monty Henderson, 7/10/68
Alan C. DeCrane, 2/16/70
George Meerdink, 2/22/69
Roger W. Fike, 2/18/70
James Wood, 8/70
Charles Mitchell, 11/21/69
Alan C. Benson, 5/21/69
Rodney Rogers, 1/9/70
Donald E. Jones, 3/67
Martin J. Rapczak, 5/23/68
James E. Wederman, 6/18/67
Dan E. Bryan, 2/8/68
William M. Price, 10/12/72
Bernard Smith, 8/24/68
James L. Verheist, 3/26/67
Ivan L. Heller, 10/10/68
Carl E. Kleinau, 4/30/69
Nels I. Hemmingson, 6/17/70
John Verscheure, 12/17/70
Michael W. Leif, 12/7/69
Our Vietnam War Veterans
Roger Ahlberg
John L. Anderson
Larry A. Anderson
William H. Anderson
Charles F. Bailey
Mike Bailey
Jerry L. Bainbridge
Fred Barlow
Richard “Rick” Barlow
John Benedict
Donald W. Bonar
Frederick S. Bonati
Larry Boostrom
George W. Brand Jr.
Donald E. Brock
Jack Burnett
Kent Burnett
Roger Carlson
Ronald Carrasca
Ed Cheline
William D. Clague
Ben Clay
Jerry L. Clark
Jerry Collinson
Curtis A. Cook
James I. Cowley
Daniel C. Craig
Ronald R. Craig
Thomas Craig
Wayne O. Craig
Richard G. Davis
Richard Dexter
Frank Dillon
David Doye
Charles Dykeman
Melvin E. Durant
James Ehrenhart
Burton Empson
Reynolds M. Everett
Daniel Gale
John A. Gearhart
Mike Gerard
Murray Grieve
Wynn O. Griffin
Tim Guss
Thomas E. Hartman
William Hay
Ronnie Hepner
Leland Hultgren
James Johnson
John C. Johnson
Richard Johnston
Paul W. Kronsted
Sam Lindberg
Roger A. Linbom
Ronald Linbom
Bernie Lipke
Paul W. Lyon
Robert Leon Mendel
Robert L. Murphy
Lowell Murray
Greg Nelson
Jerry H. Nelson
Randall Newman
Harold Nordeen
Karl Nordstrom
Dewey D. Olander
Lee Odell
William Page
Donald Peterson
Rod Powers
John M. Pratt
Joseph W. Raley
Terry Raley
Harland Rapp
Dan Richison
James Ripka
Dan Robbins
Johnnie Robbins
Donald G. Ruhl
Gene Selman
Leroy Schoop
Paul Schmidt
Paul Schwab
Robert L. Shields
Jerry Smith
Roger Spiegel
Anthony Strand
Dale S. Sweat
Ed Thompson
Gary Vandevelde
Ross Walker
Lawrence Weaver
Richard H. Winter, Jr.
John W. Zetterberg
(Information under this accordion will be added later.)
(Information under this accordion will be added later.)
*Due to the sensitive nature of displaying the names of servicemen that have honorably served in what is commonly called the Global War On Terror (GWOT), the City of Galva will not publish the names of our warriors on this site until and unless we have received written permission from the servicemen and women involved in defending us from our sworn enemies.
Before such permission is granted, the City of Galva encourages each serviceman to contact their Public Affairs Office (PAO) to discuss the decision.
As permission is granted, names will be added. Until such time as they are published, the City of Galva wishes to thank you all for preventing what we dread.
“When a man accomplishes something beyond his natural power, or beyond his years, or beyond the measure of people like him, or in a special way, or at a special place or time, his deed will have a high degree of nobleness, goodness, and justice….And the best part of a good thing is particularly good; as when Pericles in his funeral oration said that the country’s loss of its young men in battle was “as if the spring were taken out of the year”.
— Aristotle
“Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die….
A soldier, surrounded by enemies, if he is to cut his way out, needs to combine a strong desire for living with a strange carelessness about dying.
He must not merely cling to life, for then he will be a coward, and will not escape.
He must not merely wait for death, for then he will be a suicide, and will not escape.
He must seek his life in a spirit of furious indifference to it; he must desire life like water and yet drink death like wine.”
— Chesterton