Larry Spencer

Larry H. Spencer, 82, passed away on Saturday, May 21, 2022, which was Armed Forces Day. Services will be held Tuesday, May 31st, at 10:00am, at Lutheran Church of Hope, 925 Jordan Creek Parkway, West Des Moines, with visitation one hour prior. Service will be live streamed at Hope Church Streaming Link. Larry will be laid to rest at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery in Van Meter, Iowa with military honors including a flyover.

Larry was born May 12, 1940 in Wichita, Kansas to Howard and Myra Spencer. He grew up in Earlham, Iowa and graduated from Earlham High School in 1958. Growing up in Earlham during the 1950's gave Larry exposure to a multigenerational family and small town which provided a strong foundation to learn about life and help him face what would be his future. He then attended Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa and graduated in 1962 with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics. He entered the U.S. Navy in Feb. 1963 and completed Aviation Officer Candidate School at Naval Air Station Pensacola, FL in June 1963 and was commissioned Ensign. He was assigned to Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) training at Naval Air Station Miramar, San Diego, CA. Upon completion of training in Feb. 1964, he reported to VF-92 at NAS Miramar flying the F4B Phantom II. Larry was deployed aboard USS Ranger (CV-61) from 1964-65 and aboard USS Enterprise (CVN-65) from 1965-66, both in Southeast Asia.

While on a reconnaissance escort mission over North Vietnam on Feb. 18, 1966, Larry was shot down and captured near Thanh Hoa. He spent 6 days short of 7 years as an American prisoner of war in North Vietnam (2,551 days) -- the longest of any Iowan during the Vietnam War. This unique learning experience gave base for his entire life and was a determining factor for how he lived each day. This was during his formative years (age 25-33) and he learned many valuable lessons from the older American prisoners.

Larry returned to the United States Government Command on the first day of prisoner release, Feb. 12, 1973 and was one of the first 20 POWs to return to the U.S. on Feb. 14, 1973, to Balboa Naval Hospital, San Diego, CA. Upon return to naval duty, he attended the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA and studied Operations Research. From 1978-85, he served in Washington, DC at the Pentagon on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) and in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). He retired as a Commander from the U.S. Navy in March 1985. Larry returned to Carmel, CA in 1987 living there until moving back to Des Moines in 1995.

During his Naval service, Larry was awarded many military honors including: two Silver Stars, Legion of Merit with Combat V, four Bronze Stars, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with six strike flights, two Purple Hearts and the Prisoner of War Medal. He was a member and past officer of the Military Officers Assn. of America and Military Order of the Purple Heart.

Life after the military brought many interesting adventures including raising Collie dogs, owning Corvettes, speaking engagements pertaining to his POW experiences, ocean cruising and traveling. Larry and Ann were long time members of Lutheran Church of Hope. Larry enjoyed life and appreciated each day as a gift from God.

He will be deeply missed by his wife, of over 19 years Ann Hobermann Spencer.

Memorial contributions may be directed to Lutheran Church of Hope or Animal Rescue League of Iowa.

The family would like to express their deep thankfulness to Larry’s care team at the VA medical Center, especially the Hospice caregivers.

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