Though it's been nearly three years since his younger brother's death, DuWayne Hendrickson still gets choked up talking about Staff Sgt. Kenneth Hendrickson.

"He's so missed," DuWayne Hendrickson said in a telephone interview. "It's been a real hardship on me."

DuWayne Hendrickson, of Minot, read an article on Oct. 28 in the Minot Daily News about a Minot woman who is giving away five prints of Thomas Kinkade's "Light of Freedom,"a painting of an American flag blowing in the wind in front of a city, to soldiers and veterans and their families for Veterans Day.

He decided to nominate his fallen brother.

"He gave his life for our country," DuWayne Hendrickson said. "He was just an awesome person. He would bend over backwards for anybody."

Mistie Berg, 30, of Minot, met a woman at a home interior conference in St. Louis in March who had lost her son in Iraq. After hearing the woman's story, Berg was inspired to do something to honor soldiers.

"I was really affected by her, and her strength, and her pride,"Berg said in a telephone interview. "Being a mom, I couldn't imagine losing a son and being that strong."

At the same conference, Berg, a single mother of three who moved to Minot from Rock Lake in September, saw a print of "Light of Freedom," and decided to give away prints to North Dakota veterans or soldiers for Memorial Day.

She gave five prints of the painting to North Dakota veterans or soldiers for Memorial Day, and she will do the same for Veterans Day.

For both holidays, Berg put information about the contest in newspapers and asked people to e-mail stories about their loved ones to her. She said the response has been overwhelming, with nominations coming from spouses, siblings, parents and friends of soldiers and veterans.

DuWayne Hendrickson's letter about his brother inspired her in the same way the story of the son of the woman at the home interior convention did.

"I instantly felt I was back talking to that woman,"Berg said.

She said she and DuWayne Hendrickson both cried until they had to hang up their phones when she called him to tell him she had selected his family.

Kenneth Hendrickson was married to his wife, Renae, four days before he was shipped off to Iraq, DuWayne Hendrickson said. After a three-hour wedding dance, Kenneth Hendrickson had to leave his new bride.

Kenneth Hendrickson, who lived in Bismarck, was killed by an improvised explosive device in Iraq on Jan. 24, 2004, at the age of 41 along with Sgt. Keith Smette, 25, of Makoti.

"We lost two awesome people that day," DuWayne Hendrickson said.

Kenneth Hendrickson had taught in Wing and Mandan, DuWayne Hendrickson said. He then became a janitor for Bismarck Public Schools, and he would help kids with their homework as he pushed his janitor cart, DuWayne Hendrickson said.

Before he left for Iraq, Kenneth Hendrickson was working as a computer technician for the school district, though he had no formal computer training, DuWayne Hendrickson said.

"He was a brain and a half," he said. "He was so cool."

Almost everything Kenneth Hendrickson did was "all about the kids," from his career to his service in Iraq, DuWayne Hendrickson said. He said Kenneth Hendrickson would talk about playing with Iraqi children and giving them candy.

"He realized that these kids in Iraq deserved a better life than they were getting,"DuWayne Hendrickson said.

DuWayne Hendrickson, who served in the military during Vietnam, said his brother knew what he was getting into when he joined the service.

"He knew when he went into the National Guard that something like this could happen," he said. "I believe he enjoyed his service in Iraq."

Kenneth Hendrickson's wife, Renae, lives in Bismarck, as do his mother and stepfather, Adeline and Al Reis, DuWayne Hendrickson said. He said Kenneth Hendrickson's son Trevor, 20, is a student at North Dakota State University. He said his brother had many friends as well as family in the Bismarck area, and he wants them to remember his brother.

Bismarck Public Schools has a shadow-box memorial of Kenneth Hendrickson at the Hughes Educational Center at 806 N. Washington St., he said.

"Kenny was such an awesome person and made such a difference in people's lives that nobody who ever met Kenny could every forget him,"DuWayne Hendrickson said. "If there weren't people like him, what kind of country would we live in?"

As of Friday morning, Berg had selected two of the five recipients of prints for Veterans Day. She also selected John Suchor, an 86-year-old veteran of three wars with numerous metals and honors. Berg said Suchor, of Denbigh, was nominated by his daughter, Marie, who wrote about her father's love for his country as well as his easy-going attitude and happiness.

Berg said she wishes she could give the painting to all military families. DuWayne Hendrickson agreed that it is an honor more people should get to experience.

"I feel so privileged to receive one of these that I really can't put it into words how I feel," DuWayne Hendrickson said. "Everybody says, 'Freedom isn't free,' and I can vouch for that."

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@;bismarcktribune.com.)