Funeral for Iowa Vietnam War veteran to be held May 31

Funeral companies for Larry Spencer, who served extra time than some other Iowan as a prisoner of warfare throughout the Vietnam Conflict, will probably be held later this month. 

Spencer died Saturday. He was 82. Providers will probably be held at 10 a.m. Might 31 on the Lutheran Church of Hope at 925 Jordan Creek Parkway in West Des Moines. Visitation will probably be held one hour prior.

Spencer will probably be buried on the Iowa Veterans Cemetery in Van Meter with army honors together with a flyover. 

Extra:Larry Spencer, Iowan held prisoner of warfare longest throughout Vietnam, dies: ‘Iowa misplaced a hero’

An Earlham native and West Des Moines resident, Spencer’s F-4 Phantom was shot down on Feb. 18, 1966, over North Vietnam. He was freed on Feb. 12, 1973, after greater than 2,500 days in North Vietnamese captivity. 

Spencer served on the Pentagon in Washington from 1978 to 1985. He moved again to Des Moines from California in 1995.  He’s survived by his spouse Ann. 

In 2014 Spencer informed the Des Moines Register that his experiences gave him an understanding of what’s essential in life that he wouldn’t have had in any other case.

“Life is nice,” Spencer mentioned in 2014. “You take pleasure in what is nice as a result of no person is aware of what’s coming tomorrow.”

Philip Joens covers public security, metropolis authorities and RAGBRAI for the Des Moines Register. He may be reached at 515-443-3347 at pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.