'Kane County the War Years' author to be at St. Charles Memorial Day event
Kevin J. Gaffney, author of "Kane County The War Years," will play Taps at the St. Charles Memorial Day ceremony at 10:45 a.m. Monday, May 29. The ceremony will follow the parade which steps off at 10 a.m. at Sixth and Main streets and heads to the Freedom Shrine on Riverside Avenue.
The memorial service is led by event coordinator Lt. Colonel Mark Powell (Ret.) and will include St. Charles Mayor Ray Rogina reading the annual proclamation, a keynote address from Colonel Jake Wyatt (Ret.), and taps played by Gaffney and his daughter, Kacie, a junior at St. Charles East High School. An old-fashioned family picnic follows the conclusion of the memorial service at the historic Pottawatomie Park Pavilion from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
A portion of the profits from the sale of the book will be donated to Wayside Cross Rescue Mission in Aurora and Elgin on behalf of homeless veterans and to the Wounded Warrior Project, as well as local veteran organizations, including St. Charles Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5036 and St. Charles American Legion Post 342.
The book will be used locally to highlight the sacrifices of Kane County Veterans of World War I and World War II.
Special emphasis will be made by the author to educate the younger generation of the costs of war to those who served from Kane County during World War I and World War II. This will be done through several speaking engagements at various historical centers, schools and veteran organizations.
The images of the book reflect a wide variance of scenes from various towns in Kane County along with her citizen soldiers.
All the images relating to the 1st Infantry Division, "The Big Red One" were generously donated by the 1st Division Museum, McCormick Research Center, Cantigny Park in Winfield, Illinois.
In conjunction with the Kane County Veterans Memorial located in Geneva, Illinois, the book highlights various veterans of Kane County who paid the ultimate price in both WWI and World War II.
The research and images in the book reflect seldom seen images of war and highlights the major engagements of the 1st Infantry Division, the Illinois 33rd Infantry Division, and the 129th and 130th Illinois Infantry Regiments serving under the 65th Brigade. The various units of the Illinois National Guard are highlighted throughout the book
The book presents a chronological image and history of both WWI and World War II relating to relating to the training of men for war, the major battles fought and the losses incurred in Kane County.
The book hope to inspire not only the citizenry of Kane County as to the heroism of the citizen-soldiers noted throughout, but to never forget those who have valiantly served our nation when called upon.
To order the book, visit www.arcadiapublishing.com.
Kevin J. Gaffney, 60, was born and raised in St. Charles, Illinois. Kevin's interest in military history began at an early age, as many members of his family, including his dad, Charles and grandfather Joseph C. Gaffney, and many uncles served in both World War I and World War II.
He received his BA in political science in 1981 from Stetson University located in Deland, Florida. In 1996 he received his MPA in public administration from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. He has taught history and government in Christian schools in Delaware and in Florida. He formerly taught criminology as an adjunct professor at Judson University in Elgin, Illinois. His past employment also included working in the Criminal Unit, U.S. attorneys office in Chicago and with the Commodity Futures Enforcement Division in Washington, D.C. He currently works for the Office of Chief Counsel, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, at Hines VA, Illinois.
Kevin also has served as president and board member on the St. Charles History Center and also as president of the St. Charles Park Foundation. He enjoys serving and volunteering for many not for profits and religious organizations both locally and nationally. When not writing, Kevin also professionally recorded two CD's of trumpet Christian and patriotic music with his version of the Star Spangled Banner being published by Sony Music. He and his daughter Kacie, also annually honor veterans with the playing of taps on Veterans Day and Memorial Day in St. Charles. He also enjoys playing many sports, including golf with his family and friends.
He hopes that the book will keep alive the memories of many men and women who valiantly served in the military and who assisted in many ways both domestically and abroad to gain the ultimate victories for the Allies and America in both wars.
What lasting impact do you hope your book will leave?
"I hope the book serves as a lasting memory of the sacrifices of men and women from Kane County, Illinois who served during both World War I and II. The book highlights the training conducted before each war and the battles encountered by various units of the Illinois National Guard and 1st Division throughout in both wars. Many of the images in the book present the reader with an upfront and personal view of many of the battles encountered by the soldiers of Kane County and Illinois. From the initial American engagement at Cantigny in WWI to the landing at Normandy and the final ending of World War II, the reader will gain a real sense of the sacrifices of those who never returned from battle. The reader, through the images presented, will note a sense of pride of many of the small towns of Kane County as they sent off their young men both wars and then later honored those who were fortunate to have returned. The cover of the book, a picture of WWI Kane County Veterans recently returned from war, shows the joy and excitement of having survived the "War to end all wars". It also shows their love of country, community and the friendships developed during a very difficult time in the community's existence as well as their individual lives. Those who served in both wars, knew how blessed they were to have survived such horrific wars in Europe and to be able to return and appreciate the small town life so evident in many of the cities of Kane County."