07/30/2026
SSG Kenneth Van Giesen 1980-2011 KIA Afghanistan
Kenny Van Giesen, formerly of Kane, PA and most recently of Millcreek, PA was born in 1980. He was born into a military family rich in service, pride, and tradition. As a child, he was involved in 4-H and was surrounded by parents, sisters, and brother in a community where he flourished. Kenny graduated from Kane Area High School in 1999. During his high school years, he was a talented athlete, having lettered in football and played in the Don Raabe Big 30 Classic. It is then that he met his high school sweetheart who supported him throughout his military career.
Shortly after graduation, SSG Van Giesen joined the Army National Guard as a fuel and electrical systems repair specialist. Van Giesen went on to become a heavy-vehicle driver, light-wheeled vehicle mechanic, and armament repairman. Over the next several years, Kenny served in Germany from 2002 to 2003, Iraq from 2005-2006 with the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team and Iraq in 2009 with the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team and finally in Afghanistan as a valued member of the 131st Transportation Company, 213th Area Support Group. He served 1400 mobilized days in overseas deployment, completing 4 combat deployments and was one of only 16 Pennsylvania National Guardsmen serving at that level of active duty.
Kenneth Van Giesen was an enthusiastic soldier who never shied away from the call of duty. During his 12 years in the National Guard, Van Giesen served more than four total years on active duty. His selfless dedication to serving our country will be sorely missed. SSG Van Giessen is remembered as a compassionate, caring and charismatic soldier whose mechanical expertise was second to none. "they don't come any better than Ken," Cheif Warrant Officer Mike Noble, Cambridge Springs said. "He was very likable and was everybody's friend. He was a good leader. He was very intelligent and technically competent. Serving with Ken in Iraq made my deployment more tolerable," Noble said.
He was a member of the American Legion and the Loyal Order of Moose, both in Millcreek, the American Legion Riders and various VFW posts. He also was a member of the Kane Fish & Game Club. He was an avid motorcyclist and lover of his pet Bandit.
SSG Van Giesen was killed in 2011 as the result of injuries sustained in the Ghanzi Province of Afghanistan by a roadside improvised explosive device bombing.
In a 2005 interview with The Kane Republican, Van Giesen said he was proud to join the National Guard, like his father before him. "If I had to do it over again, I still would do it."
Military Veterans Outdoors in Reynoldsville, PA has named their 742 acre property in memory of Kenny. The property and the non profit provide a means to enhance physical and emotional healing through camaraderie during hunting and fishing trips as well as mentorship to help ease the transition from military life to civilian life and help families of returning Combat and Combat wounded, as well as the families of mortally wounded soldiers cope with the challenges they face.
