(EDITOR’S NOTE: To mark the 160th anniversary of Missouri-founded Stars and Stripes, the nation’s military newspaper, this is one of a series of articles on the importance of commitment and service to our democracy. Some information in this article was obtained from Wikipedia.)

On a wall at the National Stars and Stripes Museum and Library in Bloomfield, Missouri, hangs a citation and photo honoring a native of Missouri, Billie Jean Kanell.

The citation recognizes him as a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the highest award that can be given to a member of our military.

Kanell left Missouri and the United States in 1951 as a 19-year-old Army private en route to Korea aboard a crowded troop and resupply ship, stopping first in Japan before arriving in Seoul. A year later, he would return in a flag-draped coffin, having given his life for his country and his fellow soldiers.

Ulysses S. Grant, commander of the Union troops who founded Stars and Stripes in Bloomfield, Missouri, on Nov. 9, 1861, once said of his comrades in arms: “The friend in my adversity I shall always cherish most. I can better trust those who helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours than those who are so ready to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity.”

Unfortunately, young Billie Kanell would never have the opportunity to enjoy another real “day of sunshine” with his family, friends and community, much less days of peace and the opportunity for prosperity. 

Kanell’s division, the 25th Infantry, was entrenched on the front lines only a few miles from the North Korean capital. It was an area that had changed hands several times over the last year of fighting. Company I dug in between a series of gun emplacements. Along with the rest of the division, Kanell was there with almost 200,000 other United Nations troops in support of 270,000 South Koreans. 

The troops had engaged in one tactical assault and defensive engagement after another. Most were piecemeal and largely small scale. But the attack on Company I that morning surely didn’t in any way feel “small scale.” 

To those involved, neither was it “limited.”  The citation explains:

“Pvt. Kanell, a member of Company I, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and outstanding courage above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. A numerically superior hostile force had launched a fanatical assault against friendly positions, supported by mortar and artillery fire, when Pvt. Kanell stood in his emplacement exposed to enemy observation and action and delivered accurate fire into the ranks of the assailants. An enemy grenade was hurled into his emplacement and Pvt. Kanell threw himself upon the grenade, absorbing the blast with his body to protect two of his comrades from serious injury and possible death. A few seconds later another grenade was thrown into the emplacement and, although seriously wounded by the first, he summoned his waning strength to roll toward the second grenade and used his body as a shield to again protect his comrades.”

Those who haven’t served in the military perhaps would have difficulty grasping what Kanell did that day. But even if one hasn’t been in combat, it’s important to know that in military training one learns to respect the death-dealing power of a grenade or similar device. 

No one, absolutely no one, could have anticipated surviving what Kanell did.

Kanell had to know he was dying. His lifeblood was draining from him at every beat of his heart, yet he still rolled over to cover that second grenade.

That, my friends, is the expression of heroism in its extreme. He died so that his friends might live to fight another day.

The citation continues to state the obvious – that Kanell’s actions on that last day of his life in a foxhole in a barren, foreign land, thousands of miles from his family, his community and his country embodied the essence of commitment, service and dedication – to his fellow soldiers, his community, his country and the liberties the United States has strived to uphold over 244 years of freedom and democracy. 

Kanell probably wondered at times, perhaps many times, why he was there. In a way he knew he was there for his parents, for his family, for his home in the tiny community of Fairdealing, located between Doniphan and Poplar Bluff, and for his flag and country. And once he was there this new land was intractably, irretrievably his, in all its misery, heat, mire, cold and commitment. He also was there for his comrades—the new friends he cared for and trusted every day for his survival. For them, he made the ultimate sacrifice.

Sadly, Billie Kanell lived but 20 short years. Today, his parents have passed and his siblings have as well. His girl, if he was lucky enough to have one, is likely gone as well. But Billie Jean Kanell will live forever in our minds and hearts. If you happen to be driving west on U.S. 160 from Poplar Bluff toward Doniphan and you come through a little village called Fairdealing, just make a left at the Post Office. When you come to the cemetery, stop and get out. Visit his grave, kneel if you feel the need, and thank him.

He’s what the flag we celebrate is all about. He and others like him. Not all cast themselves onto a live grenade as Kanell did, but all our veterans — and all our current service members — deserve our thanks.  

Kanell was posthumously awarded America’s highest award, the Medal of Honor for his actions on Sept. 17, 1951. He came home and was buried in Fairdealing. The Army honored Kanell by naming building, streets, and rifle ranges after him. Numerous museums throughout the country tell his story. 

Poplar Bluff dedicated Kanell Boulevard to him and the Poplar Bluff High School JROTC Battalion has his name.

What Kanell did on his first day of combat was extraordinary. His Medal of Honor is the centerpiece of Kanell Hall at the Poplar Bluff Museum. The Museum is open every Sunday free of charge from 1 to 4 p.m. at 1010 Main Street, formerly the Old Mark Twain School.

It’s fitting that Kanell’s photo and citation hang in the National Stars and Stipes Museum. That museum not only is there to document the incredible 160-year history of the iconic military newspaper, it’s also there to remind all who visit of the principles for which the United States stands. Each and every day of the year, Stars and Stripes, the newspaper, reminds us of the sacrifices our troops make around the world so that those of us here can enjoy lives blessed with freedom and democracy.

Some call Stars and Stripes the most important newspaper in the world. Each day, it brings to the troops and their families news from back home. It is, truly, the hometown newspaper of soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines. It operates under the First Amendment, which means that no officer has the right to veto what goes in it or punish those who write and edit it. No other military in the world operates that way. Our military believes in our freedoms — including freedom of the press — and upholds the very principles for which our country stands. 

Billie Jean Kanell read it. To him, it was indeed a way to connect with home and know the unvarnished truth.