Moving Tribute Will Honor Kane County’s Fallen on Memorial Day 2014
The names of two Kane County veterans will be added to the Wall of Honor during a Memorial Day ceremony at 3 p.m. Monday, May 26 at the Kane County Government Center, 719 S. Batavia Ave., Geneva.
The Kane County Veterans Assistance Commission will host the ceremony, during which the names of Rachel Carey and William Holstine will be added to the Wall of Honor that is part of the Kane County Veterans Memorial on the Government Center campus. The annual ceremony pays tribute to those Kane County residents who gave their full devotion in defense of this country.
The guest speaker will be Col. Duane Buttell Jr., an Air Force veteran who flew combat missions in Vietnam and was awarded the Silver Star. More information about Col. Buttell is included in the text of the program, presented below.
Memorial Day Program
May 26, 2014
KANE COUNTY GOVERNMENT CENTER
Welcome
Christopher J. LauzenChairman, Kane County Board
Master of Ceremonies
Jacob A. ZimmermanSuperintendent, Veterans Assistance Commission
Posting of Colors
AMVETS Post 202 Elgin, Illinois
Star Spangled Banner
Invocation
Pastor Jerry Gleason
Lieutenant Colonel, Illinois Army National Guard, Retired
Keynote Address
Duane A. Buttell Jr.
Colonel, U.S. Air Force, Retired
Reading of the Empty Chair Poem
Al Brady
Honoring Kane County’s Fallen
Randy Hultgren
Representative, Illinois’ 14th Congressional District
Honor Guard Firing Squad
Kane County Forest Preserve District Police
Taps
Richard Stanczak, Bugles Across America
Presentation of Flags to Families
Rachel Carey
William Holstine
Benediction
Pastor Jerry Gleason
Lieutenant Colonel, Illinois National Guard, Retired
About Col. Duane A. Buttell Jr.
Colonel Buttell attended the University of Illinois, where he was a Distinguished ROTC graduate. Upon graduation in 1964 he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and entered Air Force Pilot Training. Following training, he deployed to Da Nang Air Base, Republic of Vietnam in February of 1966. During his tour in Vietnam, he flew 153 combat missions and is credited with a MiG-21 kill during aerial combat over North Vietnam on 14 July 1966.
Colonel Buttell is a graduate of the Air Force’s Squadron Officer School and Air Command and Staff College.
He left active duty in December of 1969 and continued his military career with the Kansas Air National Guard. In 1981 he joined the 9001st Liaison Officer for the United States Air Force Academy and Air Force ROTC. He concluded his military career in 1993, retiring with the rank of colonel. Col. Buttell holds the Air Force aeronautical rating of senior pilot with more than 4,000 hours in military fighter aircraft.
His military decorations and awards include the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with 10 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Air Force Achievement Medal, and eleven additional medals and ribbons.
Colonel Buttell flew for American Airlines and retired in April 2001 with more than 20,000 commercial flight hours. In 2006 he was inducted into the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame and in 2009 he was presented the Distinguished Alumni Award by the Illinois Valley Central Educational Foundation. Colonel Buttell resides in St. Charles with his wife of 49 years, Judy. They have two children and five grandchildren.
About the Kane County Veterans Memorial
The Kane County Veterans Memorial was conceived in 1997 to honor the men and women of this nation and the Kane County “citizen soldiers” who served in the United States Armed Forces. The Memorial was dedicated on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2004.
The mission of the Kane County Veterans Memorial is to recognize their dedication in protecting this free nation from the Spanish/American War through the current conflicts. The Wall of Honor is the repository for all the names of the Kane County War dead. The Veterans Memorial is for remembrance, solitude, and reflection on sacrifices made by Kane County’s citizen soldiers.
This Veterans Memorial is a solemn reminder to and for the citizens of Kane County, that we the people remember and cherish the legacy of freedom, justice, democracy, and peace which Kane County veterans have defended.
With the addition of Rachel Carey and William Holstine, the Wall of Honor now is inscribed with the names of 856 men and women from Kane County who have died while on Active Duty during a time of war.
