May 20, 2010

Flags lowered to honor war casualty

Under a proclamation signed by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, the United States flag and the Illinois flag are at half-staff at all State of Illinois facilities in honor of a former Illinois resident killed last week while serving the military in the war in Afghanistan.

Flags are to be flown at half-staff beginning immediatelyThursday, May 20, until sunset, Saturday, May 22, in honor of Sgt. Denis D. Kisseloff of the Missouri National Guard.

Reports indicate that Kisseloff, 45, of St. Charles, Mo., died May 12 from injuries received when his unit was attacked with a rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire. Kisseloff died at Forward Operating Base Shank, Afghanistan.

Kisseloff was deployed as a specialist and posthumously promoted to sergeant. He is a graduate of York High School in Elmhurst.

His military service dates back to when he joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1981, later becoming a member of the Marine Corps Reserves until July 1988. He joined the Missouri National Guard in April 2007, and was most recently assigned to the 1141st Engineer Company, based in Kansas City. He previously served in Iraq with the 1138th Engineer Company from July 2007 to August 2008.