An ever-growing list: Kankakee County veterans remembered, honored

It took just over seven minutes to read the 137 names of veterans that have died during the past year with ties to Kankakee County.

Their names echoed from the courthouse steps on Monday morning during the annual Kankakee County Veterans’ Council Memorial Day Ceremony, read by Karen Smietanski, assistant superintendent at the Veterans Assistance Commission of Kankakee County.

It’s a list that adds to the growing number of fallen service members each year as communities gather to pay their respects on Memorial Day.

It’s a day that gets harder every year, said Eric Peterson, superintendent of the Veterans Assistance Commission of Kankakee County and the CEO of non-profit Project Headspace and Timing.

Peterson, a U.S. Army National Guard veteran, delivered an emotional Memorial Day message as he spoke on his own experiences of deployments and loss, referencing his own growing list of fallen comrades.

His list includes those lost in action as well those lost under circumstances where PTSD or other issues could have been a contributing factor, ultimately leading him to start the non-profit advocating for veterans’ mental health.

Peterson shared the name of each veteran from his list.

“With each day, the weight increases,” Peterson said. “Just because some of us that are still here may carry the weight well, does not mean that it is not heavy.”

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Memorial Day in Kankakee Members of Kankakee Veterans Council Color Guard present the colors as memorial wreaths await placement on Monday, May 26, 2025, during the Kankakee County Veterans' Council annual Memorial Day Ceremony at the Kankakee County Courthouse. (Tiffany Blanchette)

Throughout these losses, throughout the pain, Peterson asked, “How is it that we are supposed to behave on a day dedicated to remembering those who could not be here?”

His response is a consistent one.

“Think about those that we have lost. Say their names ... and let the tears roll down your cheeks because you know those men and women were worth every single one,” he said. “Make this community one they can be proud to have served.

“While this day may be a somber one, let it also be a reminder of the force we have when we work together towards a common goal.” Peterson said. ”Let it be a reminder that we can lift each other up, and it doesn’t have to cost a single thing.

“Have a meaningful Memorial Day.”

Gone, not forgotten

The morning of ceremonies started with a remembrance for a fallen soldier.

More than 100 people gathered in the Field of Honor at Kankakee Memorial Gardens to lay to rest John Kirnbauer, whose ashes went unclaimed for five years.

Kirnbauer, 66, who was born in Chicago on April 3, 1953, died March 25, 2020, at the Gilman Healthcare Center, a nursing home in Iroquois County.

In a joint effort between the nursing home, Kankakee Memorial Gardens and the Veterans Assistance Commission of Kankakee County, a service for Kirnbauer was planned.

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Over 100 people gathered for a ceremony dedicated to the late John Kirnbauer, a veteran whose ashes went unclaimed for five years, on Monday, May 26, 2025, at Kankakee Memorial Gardens. (Tiffany Blanchette)

“I’d like to say this is rare, but it’s not,” said Bradley resident Roland Boguszewski, Illinois State Coordinator for the Missing in America Project, which aims to locate, identify and inter the unclaimed cremains of American veterans. “It’s not rare at all.”

Boguszewski said the Illinois chapter has from 90-100 unclaimed cremated remains surrendered each quarter, when they hold a group ceremony before the fallen veterans are interned in a VA National Cemetery.

Veterans’ remains stay in storage sheds, garages, pole barns, among other places, for various reasons, he said.

“There’s not always a lot of people that volunteer to do this kind of ceremony,” Boguszewski said. “It’s the love of the community and the love of the people coming together to do this. Including the veterans and these good people here that actually stepped up to try to do the right thing.

“[John Kirnbauer], he was a soldier. He deserved his honor. And he’s finally going to get it.”

Gilman Healthcare Center employee Theresa Woodle, credited with making that first call to set the ceremony in motion, took to the podium to share about the late Kirnbauer.

She said he was “a pretty cool and quiet man” who mostly kept to himself but joined others for a smoke or a hot cup of coffee and really enjoyed going to the Veterans Affairs at the facility, as the local VFW would bring goodies for the veterans.

Kirnbauer’s picture hangs on the veterans wall of honor at the center, she said.

“John, it was very important to me that you were laid to rest with dignity, respect and honor. You didn’t deserve to be on a shelf, you deserved to be right next to the other veterans like you earned,” Woodle said.

“You may not have had blood related relatives or family members that came to see you, but you definitely had family at Gilman Healthcare Center.

“So today John you’re being honored. You finally made it to your forever resting place. ... Rest in paradise my friend.”