Army Sgt. Michael E. Ristau

Died July 13, 2012 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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25, of Rockford, Ill.; assigned to 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.; died July 13 in Qalat, Zabul province, Afghanistan, of wounds caused by an enemy improvised explosive device.

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Iowa town honors native son killed in Afghanistan

The Associated Press

CASCADE, Iowa — More than 1,000 people attended a memorial service Aug. 4 for a 25-year-old Army sergeant who grew up in eastern Iowa who was killed last month in Afghanistan.

Sgt. Michael Ristau, who grew up in Cascade but who was living in Rockford, Ill., when he died, was killed by a roadside bomb on July 15 in Afghanistan's Zabul province. Ristau was assigned to a Washington state unit, and his funeral was held there. Saturday's memorial service was held in Cascade, where he grew up and where his father and stepmother still live.

Nearly 2,000 American flags lined Cascade's streets Saturday morning, and motorcyclists escorted Ristau's family to the service, the Dubuque Telegraph Herald reported.

Bill Donovan, a member of American Legion Post 528, led the service. He said Ristau's family approached the organization about holding the service and that the police and fire departments joined the effort.

"The entire Cascade community came together to make this work," Donovan said.

Iowa Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Mike Brecht, a casualty assistance officer, recalled Ristau's father, Randy, asking for a small, 15-minute memorial.

"I said, 'You think 15 minutes? Think again,'" Brecht said. "Cascade is honoring your son."

Randy Ristau was touched by the effort and the turnout.

"What Cascade did was awesome," he said.

Ristau joined the Army in July 2004 and deployed to Afghanistan with his brigade in December 2011.

He is survived by his wife and two children.