Veterans Way Honorees

Milton was born in Greenwood, Mississippi on Feb. 11, 1945. He came to Waterloo at age 3. He joined the Army on 1/31/63 and was stationed in Germany. He earned the Good Conduct Medal and Expert Rifle. He received an Honorable Discharge on 3/8/66. He lived in Germany a few years after discharge, then moved back to Waterloo. He was very proud of his military service and it made him very patriotic. He loved flying the flag. He married Cheryl and had 3 daughters – Traci, Nikole, and Michele and 4 granddaughters -Shabbrea, Briana, Temiah, and Najya (who he never got to meet). His daughters and granddaughters were his world. He was an avid fisherman spending most of his free time at a lake or river. He also loved to travel. He worked at the Highway Commission as a surveyor, Rath Packing, bus driver for Headstart (which was his favorite!), then Met Transit until he became too ill to work. He passed away on August 1, 2007. He is missed. He was proud of his service to his country. He was very patriotic.

Casualty of War Spec 4 Gerald Fettkether was born in Waterloo, IA and lived his entire life on a farm in rural Black Hawk Co until he was drafted into the Army. After being drafted into the Army, Jerry received his training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO and Fort Ord, CA. He arrived in Vung Tau, Viet Nam on 4/22/1966 with the US 25th Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade. He was wounded on 12/31/66 when fragments from a sniper’s rifle-grenade injured his right foot and leg. He received a purple ribbon for the injury and returned to combat duty two weeks later. He had been driving a half track vehicle but lost his life while on a scouting mission on 2/8/1967. When heavy automatic weapons fire pinned down his platoon as it approached a clearing near Tay Ninh, Jerry dashed to the enemy’s flank and although wounded, poured covering fire on the enemy until he was mortally wounded. His parents received a Bronze Star Medal for Valor and a Vietnamese Military Merit Medal for his bravery. Jerry was born on 1/19/1946, the son of Hugh and Dorothy Fettkether. He was the sixth of eight children. He graduated from Don Bosco High School, Gilbertville in 1965. He farmed with his Dad before being drafted and planned to farm when he returned from the military. He enjoyed hunting, trapping, roller skating and riding his motorcycle.

Larry Elling has been a resident of Waterloo and most recently Cedar Falls since 1976. He recently passed away on February 11, 2024. He was born in Hampton, Iowa. Larry took basic training at Fort Polk Louisiana, United States Army Training Center Infantry. Larry was in the Company B, Second Battalion. Was a helicopter maintenance specialist. Larry served in the United States Army during the Vietnam War. He also served in the National Guard for 9 years. Larry was in the Company B, Second Battalion.

John grew up in Waterloo, and while attending West High enlisted in the US Army in 1994. He completed Basic Training in-between his junior and senior years of high school at Fort Jackson, SC. After graduation, John went on active duty, received advanced training in Quantico, VA, and was stationed at Fort Hood, TX. During his time there, John was deployed to Camp Casey in South Korea to guard the DMZ. John left the Army in 2000, and re-enlisted in the US Army Reserves in 2003. Whilst with the Army Reserves, John was deployed to Iraq from 2003-2004 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. John retired in 2018 as a Senior Logistics Manager with the rank of E-7 Sergeant First Class. After returning home, John has continued to be active in veteran affairs like the Irreverent Warriors, which helps to stop veteran suicide. John is married to Elena and is a father of four, raising his family in Waterloo.

Dale was raised in the northern Iowa town of Elma. Dale married Inez in the spring of 1942 and they raised 5 children together. His wife moved to Waterloo when Dale entered the army in WW2. Tech Sgt Dale J Clark was drafted into the army during WW2 and served from August 1942 until December 1945. During his time in the army, he became the noncommissioned officer for Battery C of the 485th Anti-Aircraft Battalion. After training in the United States, he spent the rest of his time in the South Pacific on Leyte in the Philippines as well as Okinawa and has commented how brutal the fighting was in that theatre. After the war Dale worked at the John Deere foundry in Waterloo and later at Rath Packing while going to school in the evenings for his business degree from Gates College. After graduating from Gates College as the valedictorian of his class, he found work nationally at MW Kellogg Construction Company, and then eventually in Waterloo with Claude Gardner Construction followed by John G Miller Construction. While at John G Miller he continued his education in the evenings earning a structural engineering degree and he used that training in the construction of many of the structures and buildings he built. Dale eventually formed his own heavy civil construction company, Dale J Clark Contracting, later changing the name to Rampart Corp.

Terri was born in Waterloo and lives in Laporte City. She served at Camp Lejeune, and was a Reservist.

Rick Calhoon met his wife Terri while stationed in Waterloo, Iowa as a part of the I&I staff.

A midwestern farm boy, I grew up in a county and near a small community dominated by those of central European descent. As one might expect growing up in such a rural area, when not helping with farm chores, school activities and 4-H events and projects dominate any “spare” time. Formal education began in a rural two-room white-frame building situated on 1½ acres of grassland dominated by a small dry-run creek edged by a grove of trees. Entering the 4th grade took me into town and a parochial elementary school and eventually to the community’s public school system. After graduation I began college at the University of Nebraska, although draft papers arriving at the conclusion of the first year meant further formal education would be postponed. I was inducted into the U.S. Army in November 1966 and sent to Fort Bliss, Texas, for basic training. After completion of Advanced Individual Training at Ft Huachuca, Arizona, I was sent to be permanent party at Fort Polk Louisiana (the major training center for Army infantry instruction). As a member of the company administrating operations at Ft. Polk, my individual role was to gather and coordinate distribution of all orders generated at FT. Polk, primarily involving the assigned movement of troops into and out of Ft. Polk. I was also assigned to the Fort’s Louisiana Disaster Response Team with security clearance. It wasn’t until several months later that I came down on levy reassignment to Viet Nam. I arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport near Saigon early afternoon on January 30, 1968, which was to be, as it turns out, the beginning of the North Viet Namese and Viet Cong TET Offensive. In the early twilight we returned to the airport to catch a flight up-country. Within minutes, the Viet Cong offensive began with a barrage of rockets raining down on the airport and V.C. troops swarming across the airfield base. My unarmed compatriots and I crammed into a nearby bunker, able to observe the melee and hope the marauders did not discover the “fish-in-a barrel” target we presented. Luckily, the V.C. missed our location. Survived Day One. The ensuing months consisted of 12-hour workdays, seven days a week that ranged from utterly boring to harrowingly intense. Even the last week in-country produced a red alert: sampans of V.C. troops were landing on the coast nearby with the intent to overrun us. We armed for combat, crouched behind concrete barriers, with my assigned company communications responsibilities. Tense minutes drug slowly by. Morning broke into a clear day; clear of any enemy intrusions as well. When DEROZ finally arrived, a mere 48 hours was to pass between arriving “home” and departure from my Viet Nam company: the 527th Personnel Service Company. The company was responsible for the creation and distribution of orders directing the movement of individuals, troops and units inter and intra the Southeast Asia region as well as other confidential personnel matters. I left active duty a Specialist 4th class, awarded a Good Conduct Medal in addition to service and arena awards. As a result of my years in service and particularly in Southeast Asia, I continue to deal with PTSD and the effects of Agent Orange which have generated a number of medical issues and ailments. Back in the U.S.A. I attended Wayne State, transferred to the University of Nebraska; and completed degrees in Broadcast Journalism and General Agriculture. After several years working in the advertising, public relations, broadcast services, insurance, and agricultural manufacturing fields; I adjusted my career to non-profits, working in public relations, marketing and fundraising. Before retiring, I started a small landscaping business and enjoyed being self-employed and creative with my hands. My wife, Terry Poe Buschkamp, and I live in Waterloo and I have been married for 30 years. I am a father of six and stepfather to two children, and grandfather of ten. I keep busy with hobbies and projects to maintain our 100-year-old home and enjoy landscape gardening and various artistic projects. I am actively involved in local and state politics and find a great deal of enjoyment spending time with my family and traveling to wonderfully different and exciting places.