Keith Sweetwood

The Obituary of Retired SFC Keith William Sweetwood Keith William Sweetwood was born on February 18th, 1946, to Clifford R. and Evelyn M. Sweetwood. The Sweetwood family lived in a cozy farmhouse on Wood St. in the village of Elwood. Will County, Illinois. Keith was born the seventh of eight children, only six of which made it to the age of thirty. His family consisted of many members with different and sometimes eclectic tastes and opinions. His father was a boat pilot on the Mississippi; his mother ran a pie shop. His eldest brother Dale was exactly thirteen years and one day older than him (Keith always said it was a point of irritation for Dale). The second eldest, Dean, was gracious enough to be the best man at Keith’s wedding after the previous best man, Keith’s best friend, was killed in Vietnam. Roger, the third oldest, died in Seattle of lymphoma, after talking to Keith one last time. Charalene, the eldest daughter, died of cancer in 1958, after spending her final months being lovingly cared for by her family, especially by her youngest brother. Lola and Lonnie, the Sweetwood twins, were born in 1939. Lonnie died in April of 1940, but Lola lives to this day surrounded by her family. Keith was born in 1946, at over 11 pounds and with his trusty tooth. Needless to say Dear Evelyn was more than happy to feed him formula. And young Victor, the last of the family, was born in January of 1959, two months after the death of Charlene, and 12 years, 11 months, and 29 days after Keith. (if you do the math, that makes Dale exactly 25 years, 11 months, and thirty days older than Victor) Keith would always delight in telling embarrassing stories about the only brother he had that was younger than him. As Keith made his way through high school, he had to encounter a new set of problems. He fell into the terrible trials that all teenage men face: girls. He met a woman in the course of his education, and it was her who became the love of his life. Her name was Linda Sue Spires, and she was a soloist with the madrigals, he met her while he was captain of the rifle team at Joliet Township High School. She had grown up in Joliet, Illinois, with her parents Eileen and Alfred Spires, and her older brother David. She was Keith’s prom date during his junior prom, and accidentally called him Phil when he came to pick her up. After high school, he decided to follow in his eldest brother’s footsteps and join the United States Army. In the Sweetwood Family, Dale, Dean, Roger, Keith, and Victor all served in the United States Military. Keith joined the Army in early 1965, and after a brief stint in the Dominican Republic, he volunteered for service in the escalating Vietnam War. Upon arriving for unit assignment, he was chosen to be a reserve member of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Division, set for deployment as reinforcements at the battle of La Drang. Due to extra training he had received to make him airborne qualified, he was transferred at the last moment into the first true military unit he ever served in: The 101st Airborne Division. Keith began as an ammo bearer for a machine gun crew, until the gunner died. Then he was promoted to assistant gunner, until the gunner died. Then he was promoted to the lead gunner, where as Keith would always say, “I didn’t die.” He also served with the Special Forces as a member of an Alpha Team. After serving his tour of duty in the jungles of Southeast Asia, he returned home to the United States with two foot lockers of items. The first was full of exotic silk scarves and Asian jewelry to bring to someone who had looked him up during the war, and had wrote to him several times, Linda. The second was full of letters and clothing, but also contained a false bottom with one M1911 pistol, three hand grenades, and large amounts of plastic explosive. For some odd reason, that locker never made back to Elwood. Keith ended up falling in love with Linda, and the two of them married on the hottest day of July in 1967. On July 18th, 1968, their only child Kimberley Ann Sweetwood was born. They traveled from place to place, as any military family does, from Illinois, to New Jersey, Colorado, Texas, North Carolina, Arizona, New Mexico, Japan, Germany, and Washington, Where his only child’s only child was born. Connor Jason Sweetwood was born on September 11th 1991, and the little family of Keith, Linda, Kim, and Connor, lived happily until 1999. Linda died of congestive heart failure in March, and Alfred, her father, died in June. To leave dreary, rain soaked Washington, and to care for their now widowed family member, Keith uprooted his family and moved back to the place he had called home thirty years before: Colorado. There he watched his grandchild grow up, his daughter succeed, and his own past come back to haunt him. Toward the end of his life, he came to a realization, that his actions in life had condemned him. In 2004, he was placed on oxygen for the remainder of his life, to combat the damage done to his lungs by forty-six years of smoking. (From age twelve until the day his wife died) His health slowly began to deteriorate as it does with old age; but before death could take him, he was able to see his eldest brother one last time, got to see his daughter surpass him by returning to school for a degree, and got to see his only grandchild graduate from high school. His failing health caught up to him in the end, and he died from pulmonary complications arising from a life saving colon surgery on Tuesday, July 27th, 2010. Keith, Butch, Woody, call him what you will, but he was a loving man with a hard streak and a knack for being incredibly talkative. He loved to delight people with stories; nurses, friends, family, and even random passersby. Stories of his life, his experiences, only a few of which have been recounted here (Another random one he liked to tell, during the war he would send Linda lyrics to Beatles songs as love letters) and stories of love, death, and battle. In the end, while Keith William Sweetwood was many things to many people: brother, father, uncle, son, soldier, teacher, student, and patient, but he never, not once, ever let anyone down. Facta non Verba. He is survived by his daughter, Kimberley Ann Sweetwood, and by his grandson, Connor Jason Sweetwood. Funeral arrangements were made by All Veterans Funeral and Cremation. Authored by Connor J. Sweetwood.