Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
STREIF, Lloyd J.
STREIF, Lloyd J. (Des Moines, IA, September 30, 1928--Asbury, IA, December 21, 2018). Lloyd worked as a farm hand through high school. After high school, he became a logger for Elmo Jamison, Stanley Stoffel, and Oscar Bruggemann.
In 1951, Lloyd entered the Army. Assigned for sixteen months to the 10th Corps Combat Engineers in North Korea, he operated a bulldozer. He remarked that it was not unusual to see North Korean troops the hillsides watching the engineers at work building roads. He believed they were seldom targets of gunfire because the troops recognized the value of the roads being constructed which one day they might control. (1)
While on R&R, Lloyd was the 50,000th soldier to march through Camp Drake, Yokahama, Japan; served as the mayor of Yokahama for a day; and was presented with the key to the city. He was the first foreigner to ever be the mayor of a city in Japan. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his service and was honored to participate in the Honor Flight in 2010.
Upon his return, Lloyd was a heavy equipment operator for Fay Steger Construction and Fondell & Sons. Highlights of the time included constructing Dubuque's FLOODWALL and excavating many roads and subdivisions. From 1976 to 1991, he worked for the JOHN DEERE DUBUQUE WORKS demonstrating construction equipment in numerous countries on five continents.
Upon retirement, Lloyd began a career in community service. Lloyd and George Wilson volunteered over 4,000 hours in building the Dubuque Soccer Complex. The DUBUQUE ARBORETUM AND BOTANICAL GARDENS was the next project. He was involved in building the Japanese Garden and served on the board of directors for many years. (2)
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Source:
1. Interview
2. Obituaries. Dubuque Today. Online: http://www.dubuquetoday.com/obituaries.cfm