Veterans Way Honorees

Born May 2, 1935 to Floyd and Dolly Henry. Derald enlisted in the United States Marines in 1952, serving during the Korean War until 1955. He married Patricia Jenkins on September 16, 1955. They were married for 65 years before he passed. Derald worked at Grady Farms in his early years. He was then employed by John Deere Waterloo Tractor Works for 30 years, Sears Auto Center for 10 years and retired from Denso after 14 years. Derald loved engineering, home projects, aviation, and was craftsman at heart. Derald had 4 children and numerous grand and great grand children. Derald passed away on October 1, 2020.

Jeremy Simpson was born in Los Banos, California, in 1993, and grew up in Anchorage, Alaska. He joined the U.S. Army in 2011, and was a Special Forces Operator. Jeremy served three tours, and was deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan. He also worked in humanitarian assistance during and after the 2016 floods in Iowa. Jeremy was honorably discharged from the Army in 2017 as Sergeant First Class. Following discharge he was reunited with his unit’s bomb-sniffing K9, Jack. Jeremy lives with Jack and his family in Cedar Falls.

Dan was born in Waterloo and graduated from East High School in 1969. Dan enlisted in the US Army out of High School and attended Basic Training at Ft Polk LA and trained as a Construction Engineer but and switched to Combat Engineer at Ft Riley KS. In 1970 Dan volunteered for Vietnam serving 15 months. Upon returning from Vietnam, Dan was stationed at Ft Carson CO. There, Dan met and married his wife Carol in 1972, which was blessed with one son. Dan and Carol parted ways several years later, however Dan has reconnected with his son. Dan worked at John Deere’s going to the University of Northern Iowa. After 7 or 8 years working various jobs in the western United States, Dan returned and attended and graduated with an AS Degree in Automated Systems Robotics Hawkeye Tech. Dan is now retired and is a Proud Member of Combat Veteran Motorcycle Association 39-6 and a past charter member of Rolling Thunder IA 1.

Dick was born in Waterloo in 1926, to Ruth (Klingaman) and R.S. Fleming. They moved to Pomona, California for most of his childhood. However, during his early teen years, Dick came back to Waterloo and lived with (his then) Uncle Earl and Aunt Edna Bell Klingaman where they shared the love of farming, and Dick attended Orange School. At age 18, in 1944, Dick graduated from High School, got drafted, then entered the United States Army serving in the World War II Pacific Theater. Sgt. Dick Fleming was on the second wave of troops to disembark at Nagasaki, Japan. The war ended in 1945. Dick was honorably discharged in 1946 after two years serving in the United States Army. Following his military service, Dick legally changed his last name from Fleming to Klingaman, and continued to farm with (his father) Earl Klingaman raising Duroc hogs and row crops. He married Donna Jean Tannreuther and had 3 children, Steve, Soo and Kris.

Duane was born and raised in the greater Waterloo area. Duane graduated for East High School in 1969. Duane joined the United States Navy out of high school serving for a total of six. Duane served two tours in Vietnam aboard the USS Wabash and USS Ponchatula. Duane married the love of his life Judy Lambert in 1973 in Hudson Iowa. Duane left the Navy and then became a truck driver for the rest of his working career for companies in the greater Cedar Valley area. Duane is the father of a daughter Gail (Ray) Hunter of Independence Iowa. and a son Brian (Chrystal) Boyles of Waterloo. Duane is a proud life member of AMVETS Post 31 in Evansdale Iowa and also a member of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association 39-6

Oscar served in the European Theater during WW II with the 818th Tank Destroyer Battalion. He was assigned to Reconnaissance Company. His duties involved going out in an armored vehicle ahead of battalion forces to draw enemy fire to determine German troop positions, which intel was then radioed back to battalion headquarters. He described it as being a “sitting duck” for the Germans to fire upon. He received a Purple Heart for injuries sustained from a shell exploding within feet of him while changing a flat tire on a vehicle. After returning home from Europe he returned to the family farm in Titonka, IA, for one year before moving to Waterloo to work at John Deere. He retired from Deere after 31 years of employment. He was a life member of VFW Post 1623, American Legion Post 728 and the Purple Heart Society. He served decades as an honor guard member and eventually served as Honor Guard Commander for the VFW and American Legion, retiring from that position at the age of 85 in 2006. He attended hundreds of funerals of fellow veterans, believing each deserved recognition for sacrifices made in service of our country. He is one of four veterans pictured on the trailer of the Sullivan Brothers Veterans Museum’s traveling exhibit.

Guy was born and raised in Waterloo. He married, had children and worked at Zeidler’s Concrete Products.