Hometown Hero

NEW BREMEN - In an apt tribute to a hometown hero who loved playing and coaching baseball, especially with his sons Cole and Carter, organizers on Memorial Day will officially dedicate the MSG Brian Naseman Memorial Field in Bremenfest Park.

Master Sgt. Naseman died May 22, 2009, from noncombat-related injuries suffered in Taji, Iraq, a rural area approximately 20 miles north of Baghdad where he was stationed with the Wisconsin Army National Guard.

Naseman was assigned to the 108th Forward Support Company attached to the 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry, 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team out of Sussex, Wis.

The lower half of the scoreboard at one of the diamonds now bears Naseman's name along with a rendering of him in uniform. The New Bremen Sons of the American Legion Squadron 241 sponsored the project as part of the Cardinal Recreation Club's major overhaul of the four diamonds at the park.

The Sons of the American Legion will christen the field at 4:45 p.m. Monday with a brief ceremony. The American Legion's color guard will hoist the flag presented years ago to Naseman's family, according to Rodney Suchland, 1st vice commander of the New Bremen Sons of the American Legion.

Naseman's family members and acquaintances, including some of the people he befriended during his time in Wisconsin, and many from the community will be in attendance.

"We had a lot of different ideas over the years, different ways to try to memorialize Brian in the town and at a ball diamond, but the school had the diamonds already established, the flagpole was already there," Suchland said. "It just seemed every idea we had, it couldn't work, it wouldn't work."

That all changed when the Cardinal Recreation Club approached the Sons about assisting in their effort to upgrade the ball diamonds.

"One of Brian's classmates happened to be at that meeting and between the group they kind of said, 'What if we name the field after him?' So it all kind of happened organically," Suchland said.

Naseman graduated from New Bremen High School in 1990.

"A lot of the guys, from the baseball team especially, most of their memories of him are from the ball diamond," Suchland said, adding they thought the best way to commemorate him was on a baseball field.

Naseman was one of the most liked guys on the team. He had an infectious laugh and whenever he cracked up, so, too, did his teammates, Suchland revealed.

"In baseball, it gets to be a long season so I think having a guy like that on the team really kind of helps keep the spirits up through every game, ever week, every month," he said.

Naseman's mother, Diane, was also a great source of inspiration, Suchland said. She was the driving force behind the "Our Hometown Heroes" veterans banners which are displayed on village light poles. Diane's husband, Richard, served in the U.S. Army from April 1963 until April 1965 during the Vietnam War. He died in April 2016.

Diane Naseman has been tapped to throw out the first pitch on Monday afternoon.

Many villagers lovingly remember Brian Naseman and the ultimate sacrifice he paid for his country. But that might not apply to the youth, Suchland said.

He hopes the scoreboard remedies that.

"We kind of wanted it to be a reminder when they get on the field to remember not just Brian but everybody that has given them the right to go and play ball," Suchland said.

Christy Eilerman said her brother would be very humbled by the community's gesture in naming the field after him and the brief ceremony planned for Monday.

"He loved to play ball. We think of him often and honor him and miss him every day, and so having the ball field is a blessing to us to know that he won't be forgotten," Eilerman told the newspaper. "My family and I are grateful to the New Bremen Sons of the Legion post 241 and the Cardinal Recreation Club for thinking of Bryan and honoring him in this special way."

Eilerman said her brother had an incredible sense of humor - and compassion. He was an excellent son, brother, husband, father and soldier, she added.

"He was a typical brother. He liked to play tricks on us and joke around but he was very protective of us," Eilerman noted. "He was a really good guy with a big heart and would help anyone out."

Brian Naseman attended Wright State University and The Ohio State University, Columbus, where he pursued a degree in education. Soon after, he began his 20-year career with the Army National Guard. first with the Ohio Army National Guard.

He met Peggy Chmielewski at her aunt and uncle's wedding anniversary, a party that took place in a barn in Wisconsin in 1996. A week later, he returned to go camping with her and others.

"I came home from camping and my cousin and Brian and their friend came to my mom's house for a cookout before they headed back to Ohio, and when they left I said to my mom, 'That's the guy I'm going to marry,'" she told the newspaper.

The two shared a love of the outdoors, particularly fishing. He tended to angle for bass while she preferred going after crappies and bluegill.

"We just clicked. He had a great sense of humor. He was very funny. He made all of us laugh. He just made me feel comfortable," she said.

They took turns on the weekends driving to meet one another in either Ohio or Wisconsin before Brian Naseman decided to move to Wisconsin and became a member of its National Guard. The two got married and had two sons.

In 2005, when his boys were 6 and 4, Brian Naseman was deployed to Kuwait, where he provided support for 18 months, she said. He returned home but three years later was called on to serve once again, this time in Taji, Iraq.

Peggy Naseman declined to talk about what happened to her husband during his second deployment, saying it was too painful a topic given the anniversary of his passing had just occurred. Her husband died serving his country in Iraq, she said.

Flags at all National Guard armories, air bases and other facilities in Wisconsin were lowered to half-staff in May 2009 until the day of the Brian Naseman's funeral.

His body arrived back in the U.S. aboard a military transport. Several members of his National Guard unit accompanied the flag-draped casket to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Reflecting on her late husband, she said he was a caring man.

"We both are nurturers. We love to help people and our motto when we got married was to pay it forward," she said.

They were always helping others, whether it be painting a house or moving furniture.

His presence loomed large in the household after his passing. Peggy Naseman had a life size cutout of her husband which she would bring out for the boys to pose alongside at First Communion, graduations and other milestones, she said.

She and her sons often recalled little moments they had with Brian Naseman, such as the time he helped a blind man across the street in New Mexico or when he paid for the order of a car ahead of them at McDonalds.

The boys are very proud of their father and like him developed a strong sense of empathy, Naseman said.

"My youngest, he still whenever he sees anybody in uniform he will go out of his way to walk over and shake their hand and thank them for their service," she said.

She said she's deeply moved knowing that Brian Naseman will be honored on Monday.