Honoring John H. Kaiser, namesake of Belvidere VFW Post 1461

By Robert Ryder

SUBMITTED PHOTO Belvidere Daily Republican
Event organizer John Darley addresses the crowd during the opening ceremonies of the John H. K Kaiser memorial held June 10. Kaiser, a U.S. Marine, was killed in action fighting the Germans during World War I, 100 years ago this month, and is the namesake of the Belvidere VFW post.

Superintendent, VAC of Boone County

Residents from all across Boone County came together at the Belvidere Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1461 on Sunday, June 10 to honor the memory of World War I veteran John Hugo Kaiser. Kaiser, a World War I Marine, was killed in action in France on June 6, 1918, fighting against a German advance moving toward Paris. He was the first Belvidere resident to die fighting during World War I, thus Post 1461 was named after him.

The June 10 ceremony was held in honor of the 100th anniversary of John Kaiser’s death and attracted approximately 100 local residents.

“I think it’s important the public recognize the sacrifices our men and women in uniform make for the country,” said John Darley, a Vietnam War veteran himself and organizer of the ceremony. “I was amazed at the flow of the event, how everybody pitched in and took care of business.”

Darley came up with the idea to honor Kaiser back in January of this year. After finding support from most of the VFW post members he began putting together a volunteer staff of about 20 people to help the event become a reality.

One of their most important goals was to try to locate members of Kaiser’s family to see if they could attend the ceremony. And with the help of Belvidere VFW Post Commander Greg Kelm they were able to locate Bonnie Birkett, the great-niece of John Kaiser.

“I was honored to attend and excited to learn more about John,” said Birkett, who attended the ceremony. “I also was eager to see the few remaining relatives of John who were present at the event. I met…

For complete article, pick up the June 17 BDR.