Wreaths Across America chapters decorate Westmoreland veterans' graves

Barbara Keough and her daughter, Denise Keough-Samuels, placed a wreath Saturday at the grave of Barbara’s son, Frank Keough, where he’s buried in a section of Penn Lincoln Memorial Park in North Huntingdon that is dedicated to veterans.

“Frankie’s never forgotten. He was just the heart of the family, upbeat and positive,” said Denise Samuels of her younger brother, who was killed on Feb. 25, 1991, in Dharan, Saudi Arabia, when an unguided Iraqi missile hit the barracks where his Hempfield-based 13th Quartermaster Detachment was housed, killing 12 other Army Reservists in his unit.

The Keoughs were among several hundred people who gathered Saturday to place wreaths at the graves of veterans buried in 12 cemeteries in Hempfield, Penn Township, Irwin and North Huntingdon, as part of the nationwide Wreaths Across America event. In all, about 4,990 wreaths were placed on veterans’ graves through the efforts of the North Huntingdon and Jeannette chapters of Wreaths Across America — 1,866 by the Jeannette chapter and 3,125 by the North Huntingdon chapter.

The wreath at Keough’s grave joined a Pittsburgh Steelers emblem because “Frankie loved the Steelers,” said Samuels, 58, of Penn Township.

Barbara Keough of North Huntingdon recalled how she last spoke with her son on Jan. 18, 1991, when he was stationed stateside, “something told me I wasn’t going to see him again,” moving her arms to indicate his earthly presence. There’s not a day that goes by that they don’t think of him, the family said.

The overriding aim of Wreaths Across America is that although those veterans have died, they are not forgotten.

Among those placing wreaths at Union Cemetery in Irwin was Marine Staff Sgt. Gregory Johnson, in charge of the Greensburg recruiting station. He was joined by his wife, Kimberly, and their 8-year-old son, Cooper. Kimberly Johnson said they wanted their son to experience the event of honoring veterans because “his family is in the military.”

Joel Frye of North Huntingdon was paying respects to Daniel DiPrimo, a World War II veteran, the father of a friend of his and a former co-worker, who is buried in Union Cemetery in Irwin.

At Grandview Cemetery in Penn Township, Cindy Kasunic of Jeannette knelt before the grave of Cadet John G. Spahn placing a wreath in front of his tombstone and thanking him for his service in World War II.

Spahn was in the Army Air Force Training School when he died March 12, 1944, according to his tombstone. He is buried next to his father, Corp. John J. Spahn, a World War I veterans who served in the 12th Calvary of the American Expeditionary Force. The elder Spahn died in 1942.

“I want to thank the veterans for the freedom I enjoy. This is a great, humbling experience for me,” said Kasunic, who was part of the Wreaths Across America event sponsored by the Jeanette Veterans of Foreign Wars Post, the Jeannette American Legion Post 344 and the American Legion Riders Post 344.

Another volunteer at Grandview Cemetery, Gordy Stoves of Jeannette, said he had participated in the event in the past with his son. Now, he has a more personal reason for honoring the veterans who have passed.

“I do it out of respect for my son in the Navy now,” Stoves said.