Dennis Ray Heerman

Dennis Ray Heerman was born in Sedalia, MO before moving to Coin, IA at 14 years old. He graduated from South Page Community High School in 1967. As a young man he worked in construction and assisted with his father’s business. Before joining the military he got engaged to another Coin native. Heerman enlisted in the Army on May 10, 1968, eventually achieving the rank of Sergeant. On April 2, 1969 SGT Heerman began serving in an infantry unit near the Cambodian border before being transferred to the 188th Military Police Company near Soc Trang, South Vietnam. A fellow Military Police Sergeant remembered Heerman’s laugh, friendship, and love, adding that “he gave me the strength to go on.” On March 3, 1970, SGT Heerman was involved in a vehicle crash in Ba Xugen, South Vietnam, and died four days later en route to a military hospital in Japan. Memorial services were held at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Yorktown, IA, and his body was buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Coin.