BOONE, Iowa—In March, friends of Jerry Converse, a 1961 Boone High School graduate killed while serving on a U.S. Navy intelligence-gathering ship attacked by Israeli military forces during the 1967 Six-Day War, asked the Boone City Council to consider ways to honor the fallen sailor. Verne Lyon who lives in Johnston was a friend and classmate of Jerry Converse talked to the council about Converse, how he pursued an engineering degree at Iowa State University but dropped out in his third year and joined the Navy.
Converse was on the USS Liberty in international waters off the coast of Egypt on June 8, 1967, when it was attacked by Israeli fighter jets and torpedo boats, killing 34 crew members, wounding 171 others and severely damaging the ship. Converse’s family was presented with his National Defense Service Medal and the posthumous Purple Heart. He is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Cherokee.
Lyon and several classmates had discussed ideas to recognize Converse and thought of a pedestal and plaque at the Greenspace at 8th and Story. Fred Greiner with the Boone Veterans Council suggested the Veterans Memorial Park at 9th and Story. Saturday, many members of the Class of ’61 and a number of veterans from Boone were on hand at Veterans Memorial Park for the formal dedication in remembrance of a “Local Hero”.
Converse’s name has been added to Iowa State University’s Gold Star Hall in the Memorial Union, which honors former students who have died in military service in a war zone.
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