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SUMNER As a boy, Keenan Gienau loved his dad. He loved doing stuff with him. And they loved doing the same things. They were into the outdoors, cars and fishing. He also thought it was cool his dad was a soldier.

In 2014, during his senior year at Sumner-Fredericksburg High School, Keenan was asked to give a talk about his dad.

By the time Keenan, now 21, stepped to that podium to speak, his dad had been deceased nine years. Iowa Army National Guard 2nd Lt. R. Brian Gienau was killed in action in Iraq.

Dad left big shoes to fill. And now Keenan is about to fill them. He has enlisted in the U.S. Army.

To be honest, Ive been thinking about it my whole life, he said. He began more seriously considering it over the past year.

When I got out of high school, I at first didnt really want to do it because of what happened, he said. My family didnt want me to do it.

He attended Hawkeye Community College two years, but it really wasnt necessarily my thing.

He looked into job opportunities. I was still feeling adventurous and wanted to go out and do other stuff. So I started looking at different options and decided to join the Army.

When I was a lot younger and my dad was still around, I always wanted to join then because I saw my dad doing it. He let me try on his uniform, play with army guys (toy soldiers), all sorts of stuff like that.

He also got to hang out with his dad at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. Hed take me out to let me look at the tanks that were sitting out there. Id get to climb in them. Pretty fun stuff.

He cherishes those days; it was just prior to his dads Iraq deployment.

But with what happened, I can see the bad side of things. I know the worst-case scenario as well, Keenan said.

Keenans father, 29, was killed Feb. 27, 2005, serving with the Iowa Guards 224th Engineer Battalion. The Humvee he was in hit an improvised explosive device. Another soldier, Spc. Seth Garceau of Oelwein, died later of injuries suffered in the same incident.

Keenan said his father, a Tripoli High School graduate, served in the U.S. Navy on the carrier USS Enterprise, then graduated from HCC, enrolled in University of Northern Iowa ROTC program and joined the Iowa Guard.

He felt the loss of his father more profoundly as the years passed.

When I was really young, 9 or 10, I didnt understand. From when I was 9 until I graduated, it was working with the acceptance and understanding what happened. The time it really set in was right at my graduation. They had a parents moment. I looked up in the stands. I think thats when it really set in that he wasnt there for big things in life such as seeing me graduate from high school, college. Or doing this right now.

But the memories endure. Great memories. Honestly, all good things, Keenan said. He was just a great father; very good mentor. Hed like to teach you more than he would scold you.

He helped drive my interest in what I like nowadays, Keenan added. He liked cars, guns and fishing outdoor stuff, kayaking, four-wheelers, all that stuff. And thats the same stuff I like.

I would say I still want to be like him, Keenan said.

His stepfather, Tim Meyer, an assistant wrestling coach at Sumner-Fredericksburg, interested him in wrestling. It helped him after his dad died.

It made me have more focus on that, kind of filled something there, gave me drive, Keenan said.

He had more than 100 career wins. His mother is Caren Meyer. He has two younger stepbrothers and a stepsister, all at home.

Keenan leaves July 11 for Fort Jackson, S.C. Hell be involved in repair and maintenance of CH-47 Chinook helicopters and aspires to be a flight crew member on missions. I like mechanics, so I believe Ill enjoy that side of it, he said. Well see where my career takes me.

Hes attuned to the international situation. I know whats going on in Syria and North Korea, he said, but Im not going to let that persuade me one way or the other.

Patriotism is a factor, Keenan said.

The military offers attractive training and job opportunities, but it really comes down to love for county. Youve got to have that. Thats what youre fighting for. Youre fighting for the soldier next to you. Youre fighting for everybody back home. And youre fighting for the flag. Thats the way I look at it.

He summoned up the courage to give a speech about his dad in high school something he repeated at HCC.

I dont like talking about personal stuff. Im not a huge fan of standing in front of people talking, he said. I dont mind talking about my dad. Because Im pretty proud of it.

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Son of fallen Iraq soldier follows dad into service - Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier