Friends and family of an Iowa State graduate killed in Vietnam honored him at the Campus Baptist Church, 57011 Hwy. 30, on Sunday, the same church many gathered at to remember him nearly 40 years ago.

Larry Dean Bleeker received his bachelor of science degree in industrial administration from Iowa State in 1966 before enlisting in the Marine Corps. Later, he attended Officer Cadet School in Quantico, Va., and became a commissioned officer. Larry was killed by enemy fire on Oct. 26, 1967 in Vietnam.

During the service, Ames native Rev. David Hatch shared his memories about attending Larry’s wake as a young boy.

“I saw something I would never forget. I saw Larry. It was not death, not war. It was sacrifice — the cost of freedom, the cost of an American flag,” he said. “I had to stand almost on tiptoes to look at the body. There was a Marine in dress blues with white gloves and a bandage on his forehead. I’ll never forget that.”

A book about Larry’s life, “He Found the Answer” by Betty Parkhurst, has recently been published.

Larry’s younger brother, Ron Bleeker, was moved to tears as he told the congregation about the night two Marine officers arrived at the Bleeker’s home in Ames to inform them of the death.

“Seeing them standing there, it paralyzed me. I couldn’t even reach to open the door,” he said.

Larry’s mother, Lillian Bleeker, attended the service and was escorted by her three sons. Lillian and husband, Hiram Bleeker, owned a furniture store on Main Street in Ames.

“I know why he joined the Marines,” Ron said.

“It was something he told my mother. She had a devotional group for kids and Larry told her ‘I tell you what, mom, you win the little ones and I’ll go after the tough ones.’ The message was that the tough Marines needed as much faith as kids did.”

In a telephone interview, Kathy Svec, program coordinator for the Memorial Union, said Larry’s name was memorialized on the north wall of the Gold Star Hall in 1984 alongside the names of former ISU students killed in action in Vietnam.