Sgt. Kenneth J. Schall

Betty,

Thank you so much for such a wonderful treasure to have of my son. I wrap myself with it all the time, even when it is 100 degrees or more. Kenny is the light of my life. Him, his brother & sister are the reason I get up in the morning. Not having Kenny has left such a hole in my heart, as I am sure ever parent can relate to. Kenny enjoyed life to the fullest, I was never more aware of this until I spent time with his best friends, both civilian & military.

His passion in life is golf. He golfed on his H.S. team and holds the records for most matches won in one season, 5. He led his team to the state finals and then went on to play in college. He most recently took up snowboarding, he loves to fish, however I heard he wasn’t very good at it, lol, baseball, basketball, just about anything physical. He loves to be going all the time. And if his friends weren’t in the mood to stay up with him, he always talked them into it somehow.

Kenny and the military was never a conversation we had, he was going to college to become a H.S. History teacher. 9/11 happened and something happened in him. I still don’t know what that was, but I do know that he loved being a soldier. He was only in 18 months and had already been promoted to Sgt. He received the meritorious service medal as well as the bronze star and is laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery, under a huge tree. He is too far away for me, but his wish was to be there. He is such a joy to be around, although his brother & sister might disagree with that sometimes. He was always smiling and laughing, I rarely saw him in a bad mood. He was the kind of man that people gravitated to when he walked into a room, although he hated to be the center of attention.

He was the kind of soldier men followed because they wanted to not because they had to. He is very dependable and would always be there for you and you knew that. It was very hard not to be touched by him in someway and it would be very hard to find anyone who didn’t like him. He is so missed and is so very loved. I ache everyday and will until I can hold him again. The last time I talked to him was Mother’s day 2005. Every day is hard but holiday’s are the hardest. My other two kids just can’t seem to get to that place where they can enjoy them. We went away for the holiday’s last year and they have already asked to go away this year.