Posted on: Sunday, May 1, 2005
Soldier looked out for others
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
His family called yesterday's funeral for Spc. Kevin S.K. Wessel a "home going" as an overflow crowd at Nu'uanu Baptist Church heard the Hawai'i native eulogized as a dedicated soldier who died while on patrol in Baghdad.
Wessel, 20, and another soldier were killed by a car bomb while on patrol in Baghdad on April 19.
"He gave his life for his country and for the sake of the Iraqi people," said Rick Lazor, who officiated at the service.
The service included "Amazing Grace" and a video tribute to Wessel. Mourners included Lt. Gov. James Aiona and Maj. Gen. Robert G.F. Lee, head of the Army and Air National Guard in Hawai'i.
Wessel was born and raised in Honolulu and graduated from ASSETS School in 2003. He enjoyed hiking, camping and anything to do with the outdoors, as he dreamed of some day serving his country.
He first joined the Sea Cadets, an auxiliary program that introduces teenagers to Navy life, and moved to Newport, Ore., after graduating from high school to be with a friend. He had also been active with Boy Scouts Troop 181, the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the Civil Air Patrol.
Wessel's father, Paul, is a pilot and Kevin Wessel also loved to fly. Yesterday's service included a photo of Wessel in the cockpit of a Piper airplane.
Gary Rawlinson, deputy commander of cadets for the Civil Air Patrol composite squadron in Savannah, Ga., wrote that Wessel often showed up for cadet meetings in his desert uniform and was quick to help young cadets.
"When I told him to keep his head down and come home safe, he looked to me with confidence and shook his head," Rawlinson wrote. "This brings the war close to home — right or wrong, good or bad, a good man has been lost and the world will be a lesser place because of it."
The family plans to bury Wessel at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.
Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.
"Who was this super troop?" Capt. Ike Sallee wrote in a message to mourners yesterday. Wessel spent $700 of his own money for new equipment but "ended up giving away his gear to the soldiers who did not have the complete kit."
Kevin Wessel
Lt. Col. David E. Funk, who commanded Wessel in the 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart, Ga., wrote that Wessel was "drawn to this brotherhood, drawn to the defense of our great nation and drawn to something bigger than himself. For Spc. Kevin Wessel, his vocation was also his avocation."
