SSG CHARLES A. KISER
330th Military Police Company
Army
Staff Sgt. Charles A. Kiser, Age 37, of Cleveland, Wisconsin
Assigned to the 330th Military Police Detachment, Army Reserve,
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Killed June 24, 2004 when an explosion occurred near his convoy in
Mosul, Iraq.
(www.militarycity.com)
FORMER OHIO RESIDENT KILLED IN IRAQ
By Terry Kinney
Associated Press
CINCINNATI — A
U.S. soldier who was a champion high school sprinter while growing up
in southwest Ohio has been killed in Iraq, his family said Thursday.
Army Staff Sgt. Charles Kiser, 37, was killed outside Mosul, his family said.
“We received word this afternoon,” said Kiser’s brother-in-law, Bill Grannen.
The Defense Department said a U.S. soldier was killed Thursday by a car bomb in Mosul but did not release the soldier’s name. Two other U.S. soldiers were killed and seven wounded Thursday when their patrol was ambushed in Baqubah.
Kiser was with the 330th Military Police Division, a reserve unit based in Sheboygan, Wis., and had been in Iraq since January, his family said.
“What we understand is, he was in a convoy of Humvees driving, and apparently a car bomb went off and some debris and shrapnel went through the windshield and struck him in the face and killed him,” said Grannen, acting as spokesman for the family.
Kiser’s five sisters and their families, and his mother, Glenda Kiser, all live in the Cincinnati area, Grannen said. Grannen is married to one of the sisters, Denise.
Kiser grew up in Amelia, about 15 miles east of Cincinnati, and was a sprinter and ran cross country at McNicholas High School. He was a member of the track team at the University of Cincinnati, but dropped out after a year and joined the Navy, Grannen said.
After seven years of active duty and seven years in the Navy reserve, Kiser joined an Army reserve unit two years ago because it was near his home in Cleveland, Wis., Grannen said. He is survived by his wife, Debbie, a son and a daughter.
“One of the things all of his sisters and his mother say about their most recent contact with Chuck via the Internet is that Chuck really believed in the mission in Iraq,” Grannen said. “He loved his country.
“He loved the children in Iraq, who used to follow the soldiers around. He felt his mission was to see that they have a free place to grow up. He seemed committed to that.”
Army Staff Sgt. Charles Kiser, 37, was killed outside Mosul, his family said.
“We received word this afternoon,” said Kiser’s brother-in-law, Bill Grannen.
The Defense Department said a U.S. soldier was killed Thursday by a car bomb in Mosul but did not release the soldier’s name. Two other U.S. soldiers were killed and seven wounded Thursday when their patrol was ambushed in Baqubah.
Kiser was with the 330th Military Police Division, a reserve unit based in Sheboygan, Wis., and had been in Iraq since January, his family said.
“What we understand is, he was in a convoy of Humvees driving, and apparently a car bomb went off and some debris and shrapnel went through the windshield and struck him in the face and killed him,” said Grannen, acting as spokesman for the family.
Kiser’s five sisters and their families, and his mother, Glenda Kiser, all live in the Cincinnati area, Grannen said. Grannen is married to one of the sisters, Denise.
Kiser grew up in Amelia, about 15 miles east of Cincinnati, and was a sprinter and ran cross country at McNicholas High School. He was a member of the track team at the University of Cincinnati, but dropped out after a year and joined the Navy, Grannen said.
After seven years of active duty and seven years in the Navy reserve, Kiser joined an Army reserve unit two years ago because it was near his home in Cleveland, Wis., Grannen said. He is survived by his wife, Debbie, a son and a daughter.
“One of the things all of his sisters and his mother say about their most recent contact with Chuck via the Internet is that Chuck really believed in the mission in Iraq,” Grannen said. “He loved his country.
“He loved the children in Iraq, who used to follow the soldiers around. He felt his mission was to see that they have a free place to grow up. He seemed committed to that.”
CLERMONT CO. TO HONOR FALLEN SOLDIER KISER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
By Howard Wilkinson
Enquirer staff writer
AMELIA
- Clermont County officials want to celebrate the life of Sgt. Charles
Kiser, the 37-year-old Amelia native killed in Iraq Thursday, at a
communitywide event next week.
"There will be no black ribbons,'' said Clermont County Commissioner Bob Proud, who met with the Army Reservist's mother and other family members Friday afternoon in Amelia. "It will be an upbeat, patriotic event - something to celebrate Chuck's extraordinary life.''
A time and place for the event, which will be sponsored by the Clermont County commissioners, has not been determined.
"We will work with the family and proceed according to their wishes,'' Proud said.
For Clermont County, Kiser's death was the second time the war in Iraq hit painfully close to home. Front yards and businesses throughout the county have been displaying yellow ribbons since April 9, when it was learned that a 20-year-old Union Township soldier, Spc. Matt Maupin, was being held hostage by Iraqi insurgents.
"When it hits home like this, it is tough,'' Proud said. "But it has brought the community together.''
Funeral arrangements have yet to be announced for Kiser, who was struck by shrapnel from a car bomb that exploded near his Humvee convoy, just outside of Mosul.
Kiser grew up in Amelia, graduating from McNicholas High School and attended the University of Cincinnati, where he was a track star. But he left the area and served seven years on active duty in the Navy, where he met his wife, Debbie.
They settled in her home state, in the tiny village of Cleveland, Wis., on the banks of Lake Michigan, where they had two children - 13-year-old Alicia and 10-year-old Mark.
Kiser often visited Amelia to see his mother, Glenda, and his five sisters - Chris, Denise, Patty, Teresa and Joy. His father, Charles, died in 2002.
Kiser spent seven years in the Naval Reserve after his active duty stint. He then joined the Army Reserve because he could train at nearby Fort McCoy. He left for Iraq late last year with the 330th Military Police Detachment, based in nearby Sheboygan, Wis.
A story in Friday's Sheboygan Press described the farewell party in Cleveland, thrown by friends and family for the departing soldier and the return of many of those same people Thursday, when they gathered in the Kiser family's front yard after hearing news of his death.
A family friend, Steve Holzwart, told the Press Kiser had re-enlisted in the Army Reserve while in Iraq. "He had a chance to get out,'' Holzwart told the newspaper. "It hurt him to be away from his family.''
But, Holzwart said, Kiser "died doing what he wanted to do. He thought the cause was just.''
Other family friends in Cleveland told the Press Kiser coached a championship Little League baseball team last year and volunteered to work with youth at Zion United Church of Christ in Sheboygan.
"Let people know he was a great guy,'' Holzwart said. "You couldn't ask for a better father."
"There will be no black ribbons,'' said Clermont County Commissioner Bob Proud, who met with the Army Reservist's mother and other family members Friday afternoon in Amelia. "It will be an upbeat, patriotic event - something to celebrate Chuck's extraordinary life.''
A time and place for the event, which will be sponsored by the Clermont County commissioners, has not been determined.
"We will work with the family and proceed according to their wishes,'' Proud said.
For Clermont County, Kiser's death was the second time the war in Iraq hit painfully close to home. Front yards and businesses throughout the county have been displaying yellow ribbons since April 9, when it was learned that a 20-year-old Union Township soldier, Spc. Matt Maupin, was being held hostage by Iraqi insurgents.
"When it hits home like this, it is tough,'' Proud said. "But it has brought the community together.''
Funeral arrangements have yet to be announced for Kiser, who was struck by shrapnel from a car bomb that exploded near his Humvee convoy, just outside of Mosul.
Kiser grew up in Amelia, graduating from McNicholas High School and attended the University of Cincinnati, where he was a track star. But he left the area and served seven years on active duty in the Navy, where he met his wife, Debbie.
They settled in her home state, in the tiny village of Cleveland, Wis., on the banks of Lake Michigan, where they had two children - 13-year-old Alicia and 10-year-old Mark.
Kiser often visited Amelia to see his mother, Glenda, and his five sisters - Chris, Denise, Patty, Teresa and Joy. His father, Charles, died in 2002.
Kiser spent seven years in the Naval Reserve after his active duty stint. He then joined the Army Reserve because he could train at nearby Fort McCoy. He left for Iraq late last year with the 330th Military Police Detachment, based in nearby Sheboygan, Wis.
A story in Friday's Sheboygan Press described the farewell party in Cleveland, thrown by friends and family for the departing soldier and the return of many of those same people Thursday, when they gathered in the Kiser family's front yard after hearing news of his death.
A family friend, Steve Holzwart, told the Press Kiser had re-enlisted in the Army Reserve while in Iraq. "He had a chance to get out,'' Holzwart told the newspaper. "It hurt him to be away from his family.''
But, Holzwart said, Kiser "died doing what he wanted to do. He thought the cause was just.''
Other family friends in Cleveland told the Press Kiser coached a championship Little League baseball team last year and volunteered to work with youth at Zion United Church of Christ in Sheboygan.
"Let people know he was a great guy,'' Holzwart said. "You couldn't ask for a better father."
Return
to Main Index