Army Sgt. Denis D. Kisseloff

Died May 14, 2010 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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45, of Saint Charles, Mo.; assigned to the 1141st Engineer Company, Missouri National Guard, Kansas City, Mo.; died May 14 at Forward Operating Base Shank, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire.

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Scores gather to remember St. Charles soldier

The Associated Press

COTTLEVILLE, Mo. — Mourners gathered over the weekend to remember a St. Charles soldier killed in Afghanistan.

Sgt. Denis Kisseloff died May 14 when his unit was attacked with a rocket-propelled grenade and fire from small arms. He was 45 and was assigned to the 1141st Engineer Company in Kansas City, Mo.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the Rev. James P. Callahan said Saturday during the funeral that Kisseloff "gave his life for our nation because he believed in this nation and he believed in the people of America."

Afterward, scores of people came to pay their respects as his body made its way to the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.

Kisseloff leaves behind two young children, Serena and Alexandr. Their mother died of an illness about two years ago.

The two are living with their grandparents in St. Charles County.

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Guardsman had served in Corps, Marine Reserves

The Associated Press

Denis D. Kisseloff was a doting father who lived simply and doled out “big bear hugs,” according to his sister, Marie Fe Ariss.

Kisseloff would have said he didn’t deserve the accolades bestowed on him in death and would have told people to stop making a big deal about it, Ariss wrote in an online memorial, adding that she’d remember her brother for his genuine laugh.

Kisseloff, 45, of Saint Charles, Mo., died May 14 at Forward Operating Base Shank, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered in an attack involving rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire. He was based in Kansas City, Mo., and had previously served in Iraq.

He was born in the Philippines and later moved with his family to the Chicago area, where he graduated from York High School in Elmhurst, Ill.

His military service began with the Marine Corps in 1981, followed by some time in the Marine Corps Reserves until 1988. He joined the National Guard in April 2007.

Survivors include his parents, Michael and Mila; and his two young children, Serena and Alexandr, whose mother had died earlier after an illness.