Kaneville rite remembers sacrifices of soldiers past, present

Like many soldiers, Evan Mahan has mixed feelings about his military service.

"You get to be part of the fight, but you (also) have to be part of the fight," the Army Reservist told a crowd at the 115th annual Memorial Day service Monday in Kaneville, the town in which he grew up.

Mahan, of Bloomingdale, was the featured speaker. He brought some laughter to the service, pointing to his uniform and saying, "Whenever I put this on, it (the weather) is hot." That's because his last deployment had him serving in Iraq, as a captain in the 323rd Military Intelligence Battalion. He had previously served as an officer in the Army from 1991 to 1999.

The theme of his speech was "Modern Conflict," and he showed the audience pictures of the equipment, the soldiers and the contractors used in Iraq when he was there, and explained his role as assessing whether Iraqi citizens or enemy combatants could supply useful intelligence.

"I personally took more and got more out of the military then it took out of me," he said, noting the skills he learned are now applied in his civilian job. "When you put the flags on the graves today, think about what maybe that person's story was."

More than 200 people attended the service in the Werdin Community Center, with many marching about a quarter-mile at the end to Kaneville Cemetery. There they laid flowers on the graves of veterans, whether they were killed in war or not, and heard a gun salute and the playing of taps.

Next Memorial Day, guests at Kaneville's annual service will be able to peruse military memorabilia in a refitted case, complete with new woodwork, a glass front and wood trim.

The gift is in honor of Vietnam War veteran Leon Gramley, a lifetime resident and Kaneville Township supervisor, who died earlier this year, said mistress of ceremonies Leanne Gramley, his daughter-in-law. Gramley's son Steve was in the color guard for the ceremony.