Eilers, Lt. Col. Dennis 'Denny' Lee

Memorial funeral services for Lt. Col. Dennis “Denny” Lee Eilers, 27, will be held Saturday, June 30, 2012, at the First United Church of Christ in Tipton with the Rev. David Lorenzen officiating. There will be a time of visiting with friends and family that morning starting at 9:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. Following the memorial service, Denny will be given military honors at the Tipton Masonic Cemetery by the Tipton Veterans of Foreign War (Post #2537) and the Tipton American Legion (Post #123).

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Dennis Lee Eilers was born Dec. 6, 1938, and was the elder son of Walter F. and Leone M. Wentzel Eilers. Denny, as he was known by friends and family, was born and raised on a farm in the Tipton area. He was active in many sports and school activities and graduated from the Tipton High School in 1957 and also graduated from Coe College in 1961. Denny was united in marriage to Belva Schnack in 1961.

Denny always dreamed of being a pilot and following the completion of the ROTC program at Coe, he enlisted in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War. Denny's final flight was on Christmas Eve 1965, when his AC-47 aircraft was shot down over Laos. Although Denny's status was changed from MIA to KIA in 1977, nearly 4½ decades later the United States Air Force has positively identified the remains and other items found at the crash site as those members of the missing six man crew. The complete story has been detailed by Krista Clark in the Tipton Conservative over the past several weeks.

Lt. Col. Eilers is survived by his wife, Belva (Duffy) Schamberger of Cedar Rapids; sons, Curtis (Jodie) Eilers of Cedar Rapids, and Brett (Rebecca) Eilers of San Francisco, Calif.; his younger brother, Dean Eilers of Tipton; grandchildren, Danica, Shana, Colton, Ruby and Hazel; and several cousins and friends who have mourned his loss for many years.

The Patriot Guard will escort the funeral procession to the Tipton Masonic Cemetery for the symbolic burial and military graveside rites will be given to honor Denny who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

Lt. Col. Eilers and the remains of the other crewmen will be honored and laid to rest in the Arlington National Cemetery on July 9, 2012, accompanied by the families of each flight crew member.

Published in The Gazette June 24, 2012.