The son of a Pella World War II veteran will speak at a special commemoration ceremony marking the end of the war next week.
Jim Vermeer will talk about his father, Elmer “Dutch” Vermeer, a former Iowa state representative and U.S. Army Ranger who fought in Europe. Dutch, an engineer from Pella, served four and-a-half years with the U.S. Army’s 2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion V Corps, and scaled the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc, France during the D-Day invasion.
The Iowa Gold Star Military Museum in Johnston will host the event on Wednesday, September 2nd at 6:30 p.m. in honor of the 70th anniversary of Japan’s unconditional surrender, which officially ended the war.