Civil War Grave Marker Dedication Ceremony

St. John Lutheran Church in Darien, IL along with the Philip H. Sheridan Camp #2, Illinois of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) and the Darien Historical Society will conduct a dedication ceremony for a new marker placed on the grave of a Civil War veteran. The ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 23, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. at the St. John Lutheran Church Cemetery located at 67th Street and Clarendon Hills Road in Darien, IL. The public is invited to attend this family-friendly event which offers valuable lessons in local and national history while remembering those who defended the Republic so courageously.

A welcome will be given by Philip H. Sheridan Camp #2, Illinois SUVCW members, Chuck Wright, Event Coordinator. SUVCW National Chaplain Jerome Kowalski will give the Invocation and Benediction and lead the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance. Pastor Rodney Serbus of St. John Lutheran Church will offer a prayer. Greetings and remarks will be given by Darien Mayor Kathleen Weaver and Gary Gunderson, Camp Commander, P. H. Sheridan Camp #2, IL SUVCW. A historical perspective on the local experience in the Civil War will be presented by Dean Rodkin, President Darien Historical Society. The ceremony will include the Posting and Retiring of the Colors by local Boy Scout Troop #101, SUVCW members, and Veterans of Foreign Wars Darien Memorial Post #2838. There will be an artillery (cannon) salute by Mulligan’s Battery. Then “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” will be sung prior to a rifle salute by Veterans of Foreign Wars Darien Memorial Post #2838 and the playing of Taps by Richard Stanczak, a bugler from Bugles Across America.

The new marker will be for Private Louis Klein who was born on December 17, 1847 in France and died in this country on March 5, 1895. He was mustered in the 105 IL US INF Company D on October 18, 1864 and later transferred to the 16 IL US INF. Private Klein was the youngest of 10 children. His brother, Jacob Klein Sr., is buried in the cemetery mausoleum. Jacob Klein Sr. was a prominent figure in the history of Downers Grove, being one of its founding settlers who accumulated 420 acres of land. Jacob Klein Sr. was also part of the small group of sturdy German farmers who founded the Evangelical Church at Lace which became the St. John Lutheran Church of today. One of Private Klein’s other brothers, Frederich Klein, also had ties to the area. Frederich’s son, George J. Klein, and his wife, Sarah Klein (nee Lehman), are also buried in the church cemetery. George’s great-grandson, Kenneth Thompson, who is Private Klein’s great-great nephew and resides locally, will place a floral tribute spray on his honored ancestor’s grave during the ceremony.

Eight other Civil War veterans are interred at St. John Lutheran Church Cemetery and the ceremony will remember and honor them also during the special Memorial Day weekend event. They are: Private John Edlie (16th IL US Infantry Company F), Corporal Leroy Frost (Quarter Master Corporal IL), Private John Gerline (16th IL US Infantry Company F), Musician Martin Hiller (43rd IL US Infantry Company D), Private Henry Rickerich (Kienerich) Ruderick (105th IL US Infantry Company D), Private Christian Warkentein (8th IL US Cavalry Company F), Sergeant Christian Wilke (58th IL US Infantry Company F), and Private George Wolf (105th IL US Infantry Company D).

The grave marker dedication ceremony is part of the St. John Lutheran Church Cemetery Trustees’ ongoing effort to restore and to care for veteran burial plots. The trustees teamed with the local SUVCW to identify those Civil War veterans laid to rest in the cemetery who do not have markers or whose markers are no longer legible. Once identified, those veterans’ service is documented and new markers obtained.

The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) is a volunteer, non-profit, charitable, fraternal, patriotic and educational organization composed of members who can trace their lineage to soldiers, sailors, or marines who were mustered into Federal service and served honorably in, were honorably discharged from, or died in the service of the Union Army or Navy during the Civil War. The SUVCW is officially recognized as the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) legal successor, receiving its Congressional Charter in 1954. Philip H. Sheridan Camp #2 Illinois serves the western and southern Chicago suburbs.

For further information on the ceremony, contact Coordinator Chuck Wright of the SUVCW at 630-969-7987 or info@sjlcdarien.org.