Christian Liberty honors graduate killed in Army helicopter crash
Being trapped in a dust storm in war-torn Afghanistan usually isn't the time to belt out songs from "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory," but that's just what Army helicopter pilot Kevin Mose Weiss did to raise his comrades' spirits.
"His fellow soldiers said, 'Mama Weiss, when we were grounded in the dust, Mose passed the time by singing songs on the military radio that all the other soldiers could hear,'" Weiss' mother, Susan Weiss, said Monday. "That's the kind of boy he was. He brought humor wherever he went."
Weiss' family joined hundreds at Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights to share memories and honor the McHenry native near the anniversary of his death last year in an Apache helicopter crash while training in Tennessee.
The entire Christian Liberty student body was on hand for the ceremony, something that Weiss' father, Kevin Weiss, said his son would have appreciated. The younger Weiss graduated from the school in 2001.
"I think he'd view (the memorial) with a sense of humor," Kevin Weiss said. "And he'd have a bit of disbelief, too, that he started out here and that he'd now be lifted up like this."
Before his son died, Kevin Weiss felt awkward when among military parents whose children were killed in action, he said. Now he realizes he was wrong to avoid bringing up memories of those who died.
"I feast all day on stories of my son, or from people telling me things that I didn't know about him," he said.
"I miss him, we miss him, but we will see him again."
Kevin Mose Weiss' faith was another of his attributes honored Monday. Susan Weiss said her son was just 6 years old when his faith blossomed.
"Mose loved God, he loved his family and he loved his country," Susan Weiss said of her son, who was 32 when he died and left behind a wife and two children.
"He trusted in God's plan for his life."
Weiss' family was presented with two personalized patriotic memorial paintings provided by Honor America's Valor, a nonprofit organization that recognizes fallen military heroes, first responders and U.S. diplomats, and General Kinematics, a Crystal Lake-based company.
Christian Liberty also was presented with a plaque that will be placed on permanent display in the school.
Weiss earned the rank of chief warrant officer 2 during his eight years in the Army. Among his commendations and decorations were the Air Medal, three Army commendation medals, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, two Army Achievement medals, Combat Action, Army Aviator, Air Assault and Parachutist badges and the Ranger tab.
He is survived by his wife, Bethany, and their children, Lucas Mose and Susan Jane, his parents and seven younger siblings.