Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Kiste, Paul A. & Robert October 24, 1948 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/mi/mifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Patricia Currigan currigan1932@comcast.net June 21, 2023, 2:02 pm Belding Banner-News Thurs.October 21,1948 FINAL RITES FOR BROTHERS HEROES SET FOR SUNDAY The quiet rural cemetery at Alton will be the scene of the final rites of two local brothers, who gave their lives in defense of their country, when their former comrades-in-arms will gather there Sunday afternoon to pay tribute to these heroes of World War II. Double funeral services will be conducted jointly by the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion posts for these two brothers who were victims of enemy action on Asiatic and European battlefields. The young men are Cpt. Paul A. Kiste and Pvt. Robert E.Kiste, sons of Mrs.Leone Kiste of Belding and Ralph Kiste of Lowell. The local Veterans of Foreign Wars post was named in honor of the Kiste boys along with Clyde Olson, another Belding youth, who gave his life on foreign soil. Paul was a corporal in the Marine Corps and gave his life in the heroic struggle which secured the Jap held island of Iwo Jima for the allied USA as a final slug a the Jap homeland. He was born at Moseley, near Alton, March 25, 1922, and graduated with the class of 1941 a the local high school. During school he was employed locally at Johnson's and Bird's dairies.In Aug. of 1942 the young man enlisted with the Marines and saw action at Bouganville, Guadalcanal and Guam, where hw was wounded in July of 1944. February of 1945 saw him take part in his final campaign at Iwo Jima where he was buried February 25th. His mother recently received a posthumous award of a gold ribbon bar with gold star which was awarded to the 9th Marine assault troops for their gallant and historic action on Iwo Jima. Robert, a private in the army, was born February 18, 1926 at Portland and enlisted in the Army April 26, 1944. After 18 weeks of training at Fort Sill, Okla., he joined a company at Fort Bragg ,N.C. and embarked for the European theatre. His service took him through France, Belgium and on into Germany where he was among the thousands of American soldiers killed in the Battle of the Bulge, December 16, 1944, after a grueling two months campaign in which his company won many serious German resistence encountered in the Europen area. The young man was buried at Henri-Chapella cemetery at Eupen, Belgium which was the closest national cemetery to the spot where he fell at Lannersdorf- Pautstendach, Germany. A short prayer service will be conducted at 2:30 p.m from the Fitzjohn Funeral Home in Belding where the bodies will lie in state from Thursday afternoon when the Veterans of Foreign Wars detail will meet them at the depot at Ionia. Mayor Otis Currie requested all flags in the city to be flown at half-mast from Thursday afternoon thru Sunday in honor of these young heroes. Commanders Bernard Gruschinsky of the Olson-Kiste post, VFW and Larry Hanse of the American Legion called upon all veterans to meet either at the American Legion hall on Broas street or the Veterans Memorial Home on main Street, Sunday afternoon at 2 o'clock for pre-service arrangements. The groups will march in military formation to the Fitzjohn-Funeral Home from their respective meeting places. Surviving are the parents; four brothers, Ralph of Lansing, Lloyd of Greenville, Stanley and Bruce of Belding, five sisters,MrsJack Seeihoff of Reed City, Peggy and Rose Marie of Belding, and Mrs. Rollo Neve and Shirley Kiste of Grand Rapids. Additional Comments: Alton Cem.,Alton,MI File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mi/ionia/obits/k/kiste45834nob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/mifiles/ File size: 4.0 Kb