Before he was a Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipient, a leader of soldiers in Iraq, or a fallen hero whose name soon will be permanently affixed to U.S. Route 150, Kyle Wehrly was simply a Galesburg kid with a paper route and a bicycle.
Kyle’s father, the Rev. Peter Wehrly, remembers his eldest son as outgoing and talented, as someone who worked hard, never shirked his responsibilities, and never wanted to ask his parents for anything.
“He just wanted to be able to do it himself,” Peter said.
Kyle signed up for the Illinois Army National Guard in 1995, while still a student at Galesburg High School.
“He joined the National Guard because there were education benefits that he could utilize,” Peter said. “Then once he joined, he was surprised how much he enjoyed it. He enjoyed the physical activity but he also enjoyed the camaraderie with the other Guardspeople. Then he got into leadership and found he just had a knack for it.”
Peter remembers a conversation he had with his son after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
“He called me up and said, ‘I hope I never have to, but dad, you know I will.’ I prayed that he would not have to deal with any of the situation over there, but that was not to come,” Peter said.
Kyle Wehrly deployed to Iraq in late October of 2004 with Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 123rd Field Artillery Regiment, based in Macomb.
“I remember during his last time at home before they were sent over that I met a lot of the guys he was going to be with,” Peter said. “They talked of their appreciation of Kyle and his leadership skill and that he always had their best interests at heart.”
Sgt. 1st Class Kyle B. Wehrly was killed in action on Nov. 3, 2005, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during combat operations in Ashraf, Iraq.
He was 28 years old, a husband, and a father to a young daughter.
Nearly 21 years later, the portion of U.S. Highway 150 within the Galesburg city limits is set to be dedicated to Wehrly next week.
State Rep. Dan Swanson introduced a House Joint Resolution to designate the stretch of road as the Sgt. 1st Class Kyle Wehrly Highway.
Swanson said he brought the resolution forward after being approached by Wehrly’s widow, Janet, and retired Illinois Army National Guard 1st Sgt. Chuck Newton, who served alongside Wehrly.
Read the resolution here.
Becoming a full man
War is not part of Peter Wehrly’s theology or his understanding of how God wants people to get along. But the retired Methodist minister who lives in the Metro East area has a deep, abiding respect for his son’s commitment to serve.
“He did what he thought he needed to do,” Peter said. “He died doing what he loved doing. I miss him every day, but I know that he really enjoyed being in the Guard and serving his country.”
Peter also relishes in the memories of watching his son become a loving father to his daughter Kylee.
“I’d often go into the apartment and he was reading to her. Well, he was reading her the sports pages,” Peter said. “I used to laugh about that, but he was reading to her and holding her and just caring for her.”
Peter said he appreciated how instinctively his son knew how to care for his daughter.
“I think he carried that over to the troops he helped lead. He just cared for them. He wanted to do right by them and he was willing to do whatever it took to make sure they had what they needed,” Peter said.
In May 2005, eight months after being deployed to Iraq, Kyle came home to surprise his brother, who was graduating from medical school. Peter said Kyle asked him to meet him at O’Hare International Airport to give several soldiers a ride back to Galesburg.
“As we got up to leave, he turned around and said, ‘Gentleman, I think you all have something to say to this man.’ And they came up to me one by one, shook my hand, and said, ‘Thank you, Reverend Wehrly for coming to get us,’” Peter recalled.
“It just really shocked me as a parent to see your child become a full man and have others respect him so much."
Months later came the knock at the door. Peter was sitting on the couch in his Springfield home waiting for his daughters to get ready for school when he saw a pickup truck pull into the driveway.
He watched as two men in military garb stepped out and came to the door.
“I knew what they were coming to say,” Peter said. “It hit me hard. He was my eldest and it was hard.”
For two decades, a depression washed over Peter in the first week of every November. He says grief is a monster.
“There is no name for a person who’s lost a child,” he said. “You have widows, you have widowers, you have orphans. There’s nothing.”
Over time, he said, the grief has begun feel lighter. He said he feels blessed that God has used him to help others who have lost children.
“I still have heartache because of Kyle’s death but because I’ve been able to help others, it’s helped ease that part,” he said.
“I still miss my son. I miss him because I know his daughter misses him and Janet misses him.”
A community remembers
Peter Wehrly said the highway dedication won’t bring back the son, brother, husband, father, and soon-to-be grandfather who is missed deeply and daily by his family, but it will keep Kyle Wehrly’s story known in the Galesburg community.
“It’s important that children of today remember people from their past,” he said. “I’m just glad for the citizens of Galesburg, especially the children who were not alive 20 years ago and had no clue of Kyle or what his unit was involved in, that maybe they’ll be a little more aware of their city’s history.”
The highway dedication ceremony for Sgt. 1st Class Kyle B. Wehrly will be at 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4 on Galesburg’s public square.
The Rev. Peter Wehrly will deliver the invocation and the benediction.
Retired Col. Corey Wise, who commanded Wehrly in Iraq, will be master of ceremonies.
Also scheduled to speak are Wehrly’s platoon leader, Lt. Col. Jeremy Miles, and Brig. Gen. Lenny Williams, commander of the Illinois Army National Guard; Galesburg Mayor Peter Schwartzman, State Sen. Mike Halpin, and Swanson.
The public is encouraged to attend.
In case of rain, the dedication ceremony will be held at the Galesburg National Guard Readiness Center on Linwood Road.
The House Joint Resolution instructs the Illinois Department of Transportation to erect signs giving notice of that section of the highway’s new name.
Tri States Public Radio produced this story. TSPR relies on financial support from our readers and listeners in order to provide coverage of the issues that matter to west central Illinois, southeast Iowa, and northeast Missouri. As someone who values the content created by TSPR's news department, please consider making a financial contribution.
