The BT-RO Newsletter for the Families of our Fallen Military
Nov. 2014 Issue 28
2014 Annual Walk for our Fallen Balloon Lift-Off
2015 BT-RO Events
April 10-13: BT-RO Family weekend Retreat-Stevens Point
July 18th: Freedom Fest
August 23rd: Walk for our Fallen
November 7: Veterans Day Parade and Wall Unveiling
Prayers needed
Karissa Kalscheuer
Tracy Jopek’s mother
Duckie’s grandmother
Joan Uhl
Sue Christ-Novak
Lulu
Rest in Peace
Shirley A. Mott, September 18, 2014, Grandmother of our
Hero Shawn Novak.
Jeanne M. West, Grandmother of our Hero Nick Mueller passed away peacefully on Tues. May 13, 2014
John T. Maida Uncle of our Hero Mark Maida.
Jessica Decarlis-Halverson, 11/3/14, Sister of our Hero
Josh Halverson.
Terrlyn “Terri” Brunmeier, 66, Green Bay, died Wednesday,
November 12, 2014, Sister to our Gold Star Father Randy Scannell
Wernsman, Edward A. 93, Of Milwaukee, WI, formerly of
Germantown, IL passed away on Thursday, November 20, 2014, Father in-law
of our Board member Eileen Wernsman.
Scott/Steve and Jason Daentl at the
Tough Mudders Twin Cities: Batman and the Green Hornet:>)) This is
an after shot…where is the mud??? go figure:>)) L-J
Getting ready to plant trees at our Hero Justin Ross trail
Area post office named for fallen soldier
WASHINGTON – The post office in De Pere will be renamed for a soldier from Howard. President Barack Obama signed into law a bill to name the post office for Cpl. Justin D. Ross. Ross died in Afghanistan in 2011.
The bill’s sponsor, U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble (R-8th Dist.), says the name change is meant to honor all service members from his district who have died in combat since he took office in 2011. “Freedom always comes at a cost and many have paid the highest price,” Ribble said in a news release. “These soldiers’ service and sacrifice is worthy of far more than any legislation can offer, but taking this moment and this step is one more way for a grateful nation to honor these heroes.”
Sent in by Kay Birkholz. The Birky Challenge Scholarship Team is
happy to announce our 2014 Officer Craig Birkholz Memorial
Scholarship recipient to Cody Mueller in honor of our Hero. Our Hero
Craig served in Iraq before losing his life as a Fond du Lac police
officer.
Our own Dena Bauer as
a Brewer Sausage...it was on her Bucket List. Don’t judge her:>)) L-J
Your BT-RO Board of Directors working at State Fair to raise funds for BT-RO :>))
Your BT-RO Team:>)))
Girls:>)
Sue Guess:>)
Eileen and Gregg The Boss Belle
And here we are raising funds at the 1st BT-RO Rummage sale
Big thank you to Sue and Fred Spivey for all their rummaging work
time and muscle!!!!
Fred Spivey-always fun:>))
Thank you Krispie Cream for the sweets!
Our kids at a Brewer game with Camp Hometown Heroes:>)
The parents of Ryan Adams, Pete (left) and Jalane Adams, at the
ceremony to name a street in Rhinelander after their son, our Hero
Ryan Adams.
Sent in by our Gold Star Mother Kay Kastner: Thanks again to Mel's
Pig Roast for allowing me to throw out a 1st pitch at last evening's
second game at Mel's Slow Pitch Classic at Centennial Park in Graton.
Through their efforts a scholarship was awarded in Stephen's name to
Riley Neuville this past May. Riley, the young man on the right,
managed to flawlessly catch my pitch. Tom Stanton graciously told
Stephen's story before the pitch. I ran into many people, and one of
my former students, Jake Asplin, is in this photo. He's the big guy in.
the back on the right. It was wonderful to get to talk to the others who
threw out first pitches, Ross Rintelman and Grant Schoen's father. It
was a special evening.
Sent in by Gold Stat Mother Tracy Jopek: Thank you to VFW Post
Merrill 1638, Post 1638 Honor Guard, and The Ladies Auxiliary to Post
1638 for all of the support you gave me for The Sgt Ryan Jopek
Memorial Ride on August 2, 2014.
Sent in by Gold Star sibling Becky Dotzler: photo of the bench on her
parents farm in honor of her Fallen bother Robert.
GSM Shannon Collins Tattoo in honor of
her son, our Hero, Jeremiah.
__________________________________
November 13, 2014 3:00 pm • Pat McKnight Special correspondent
Onalaska High School has a new feature that honors OHS graduates who made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country.
A Wall of Honor at Onalaska High School will help ensure former students who lost their lives while in the military will be remembered. Nine former Onalaska students were inducted into the wall during a dedication ceremony held Saturday at the high school.
Located in the hallway near the cafeteria/commons, the Wall of Honor displays plaques containing the names, photos and brief biographies of the inductees.
Keynote speaker David Limberg, an OHS and West Point graduate, talked about the importance of keeping alive the memories of fallen soldiers. “We need to remember them, so they are not forgotten,” said Limberg. “That’s all they ask. This wall will formally and forever honor the inductees.”
The idea for the Wall of Honor was proposed by the high school’s alumni association. As far as the alumni association could determine, the wall at OHS is the first of its kind in the state.
“We couldn’t find anyone who we could emulate,” said OHS Principal Jared Schaffner. “We couldn’t find anyone who had what we wanted this to be.”
The nine inductees include William Himmel, who served in World War I; Walter Thomack and Floyd Briggs, who served in World War II; Donald Renstrom, who served in Korea; Michael Turner and Anthony Markevitch, who served in Vietnam; Kenneth Van Riper, who died in a service-related training accident; and Adam Servais and Nick Dewhirst, who served in Afghanistan.
While Limberg didn’t know Dewhirst personally, the former U.S. Army officer said he feels a special connection to the fallen soldier and fellow West Point graduate. Limberg shared a story of how he visits
Dewhirst’s gravesite at West Point, taking his young sons with him to honor the fallen soldier.
“I told my sons Dewhirst was a concrete example of duty, character and leadership,” said Limberg.
A 2001 graduate of OHS, Dewhirst was deployed to Afghanistan in March 2008, where he held the position of company executive officer. While on patrol July 20, 2008, he was ambushed and killed by Taliban forces. “All these inductees were under 30 years old when they died,” said Limberg. “They served out of a sense of duty, and they were at their best when their fellow service members were threatened.”
Along with honorees’ family members, on hand to honor the
inductees were the OHS concert band playing patriotic music. The
American Legion Honor Guard gave a 21-gun salute, which was
followed by the playing of “Taps.”
And we Walked in Bloomington
And we Walked in Neenah And we Walked in Amherst
2nd
BT-RO Rummage Sale Group:>))-Worked hard and fully enjoyed it, fun group:>)).
In Honor of our Fire Fighters at Lambeau Field: Steve and Steve…father and brother of PVT. Sam Bruss, our Angel Hero
BT-RO worked with the Wounded Warriors, the Green Bay Packers, and the Desert Storm Vets to re-make a house for a
wounded Iraqi Veteran and benches for our Hero Justin Ross’s trail…what an honor!
Sue and Logan Spivey help Ron Ross put benches together in honor of his son, Justin.
REMEMBERING OUR HERO ANGELS
Dec.
SGT Andy Stevens 1-Dec 2005
Jonathon Gundrum 1-Dec 2010
LCPL Jesse Tillery 2-Dec 2006
CPL Andrew Marrari 3-Dec 2009
SGT Cayla Hankwitz-Jenss 4-Dec 2009
LCPL James Kapke 8-Dec 2009
SSGT Sam Bruss 12-Dec 2002
PFC Brent Vroman 13-Dec 2004
LCPL Richard Warner 13-Dec 2004
SGT Jody Tetzlaff 16-Dec 2009
SGT Alex Bednarowski 16-Dec 2013
CPT Kevin Kryst 18-Dec 2006
Alan Sylte 19-Dec 2011
WO1 James Romlein 23-Dec 2008
MAJ Christopher Splinter 24-Dec 2003
PVT Evan Bixler 24-Dec 2006
CPl Justin Owen 25-Dec 2010
SSGT Joseph Altmann 25-Dec 2011
CPL Joshua Schmitz 26-Dec 2007
SSG Todd Olson 27-Dec 2004
Mark Tegtmeier 27-Dec 2008
Navy Brian Thomas 29-Dec 2001
JAN
MAJ Andrew Olmstead 3-Jan 2008
SGT Jason Lemke 5-Jan 2008
MAJ Stuart Anderson 7-Jan 2006
PFC Timothy Hanson 7-Jan 2008
SFC Matthew Pionk 9-Jan 2008
LCPL Jacob Meinert 10-Jan 2010
PFC Keith Lloyd 12-Jan 2008
SPC Matthew Grimm 15-Jan 2007
SPC Richard Kemp 20-Jan 2011
LCPL Andrew Matus 21-Jan 2007
CPT Lance Sijan 22-Jan 1968
1LT David Johnson 25-Jan 2012
AW1 Cory Helman 26-Jan 2007
PFC Jon St. John II 27-Jan 2007
SA George Schultz 28-Jan 2004
SPC Robert Cook 29-Jan 2004
SGT Lindsey James 29-Jan 2005
Feb
CPT Todd Ketterer Feb 2014
PVT Josh Gokey 2-Feb 2012
Army Andrew Steiner 2-Feb 2013
SFC Lance Cornett 3-Feb 2006
SFC David Hartman 3-Feb 2010
LCPL Travis Wichlacz 5-Feb 2005
LCPL Beau Schreiber 6-Feb 2013
SGT James Holtom 8-Feb 2007
SSGT Andrew Koerner 8-Feb 2014
CPT Eric Simpson 10-Feb 2010
SPC Nicole Smith 11-Feb 2010
SPC Eric Ramirez 12-Feb 2004
PVT Josh Gokey 12-Feb 2012
PFC Nichole Frye 16-Feb 2004
LCPL Kielin Dunn 18-Feb 2010
SrA Bryan Huberty 18-Feb 2013
TSGT Craig Smith 20-Feb 2008
1LT Daren Hidalgo 20-Feb 2011
SGT Stephen Keyes 20-Feb 2013
PFC Conrad Myers 22-Feb 2010
SGM Scott Schade 23-Feb 2009
SGT Daniel Thompson 24-Feb 2009
LCPL Adam Van Alstine 25-Feb 2006
SGT Chad Allen 28-Feb 2007
March
SSGT Jordan Bear 1-Mar 2012
CPL Randy Mueller 3-Mar 1969
Major Eric Bauer 3-Mar 2011
SFC Michael Zuelsdorff 3-Mar 2012
SFC Donald Eacho 4-Mar 2005
SSGT Christopher Frost 4-Mar 2008
SGT Gregory Braun 6-Mar 2006
OIF Shelli Maier 6-Mar 2012
SSG Andrew Bossert 7-Mar 2005
CPL Loren Buffalo 9-Mar 2011
PFC Bert Hoyer 10-Mar 2004
SPC Michael Rounds 11-Mar 2010
SSGT Jesse Grindey 12-Mar 2012
SSGT Jordan Bear 12-Mar 2012
CPT John Kurth 13-Mar 2004
LCPL Nicholas Anderson 13-Mar 2006
PO2 Jared Krutke 15-Mar 2007
USAF Jerome Nichols 16-Mar 2014
LCPL Harry Timberman 17-Mar 2007
SPC James Weigl 17-Mar 2009
SPC Robert Rieckhoff 18-Mar 2010
SGT Craig Birkholz 20-Mar 2011
James Cruckson 20-Mar 2011
LCPL Coltin Bellin 22-Mar 2010
SPC Justin Ross 26-Mar 2011
PFC Sean Schneider 29-Mar 2004
SFC Timothy Danko 29-Mar 2009
April
SPC Cord Daentl 1-Apr 2010
LCPL Eric Palmisano 2-Apr 2006
AC2 James Ehrlich 2-Apr 2008
SPC Chsistopher Becker 3-Apr 2010
SPC Ryan Long 3-Apr 2003
SPC Kyle Ryba 3-Apr 2010
SrA Daniel Lisowski 3-Apr 2013
CPL Jesse Thiry 5-Apr 2004
PFC Ryan Jerabek 6-Apr 2004
PVT James MacCrutheras 6-Apr 2010
PFC Gregroy Goodrich 9-Apr 2004
SPC Michelle Witmer 9-Apr 2004
U.S. Army Christian Mason 11-Apr 2008
SSG Robert Basham 14-Apr 2007
CPL Richard Nelson 14-Apr 2008
LCPL Dean Opicka 14-Apr 2008
USAF Robert Pattie 14-Apr 2013
SSGT Jimmy Arroyave 15-Apr 2004
MSGT Daniel Richardson 15-Apr 2010
LCPL Bradley Atkins 16-Apr 2002
SPC Paul Atim 16-Apr 2011
SPC Michael McGlothin 17-Apr 2004
SP4 Carl Morrison 19-Apr 1969
MAJ Brett Bekken 21-Apr 2004
SPC Steven Christofferson 21-Apr 2008
SGT Jason Graap 24-Apr 2013
CPL Benjamin Neal 25-Apr 2012
LT Christopher Mosko 26-Apr 2012
PFC Nicholas Riehl 27-Apr 2007
SFC Christopher Sauer 27-Apr 2008
SGT Ed Davis 28-Apr 2006
SGT Matthew Hermanson 28-Apr 2011
HTFN Brenda Anderson 30-Apr 2011
We walked for them in the 2014 Veterans Day Parade
2014 Wall of Honor
Please view many more photos on our website: beingtherereachingout.org and our Face Book Page: Being There-Reaching Out
Our Families at the UWGB Basketball game in honor of our Heroes.
This is our last newsletter for the year so we wish you
Peace at Christmas
And Comfort in 2015
Your BT-RO Board of Directors
