Dale Lee De Kraker

In 1957 he and two classmates enlisted in the US Army. Dale served in the Military Police and Quartermaster Corps at Camp Zama, Japan, was promoted to Specialist 4th Class, finished his tour and was discharged in 1958. Back in Holland he was employed at the Holland Hitch Co. In 1961 he enlisted in the US Air Force and worked in Equipment Management as the Air Force began to computerize its information systems. He served at Selfridge Air Force Base, MI; Aviano Air Base, Italy; and during the Vietnam War he was at Tan Son Nhut Aire Base, Vietnam, and at Clark AB, in the Philippines. When he returned to the US he served at Sandia Base in Albuquerque, NM. He was promoted through the ranks to Technical Sergeant, and was a graduate of the Non Commissioned Officers Academy. When possible he also attended night classes at various community colleges and universities in the US and overseas.

In 1969 Dale was sent by the Air Force to finish his undergraduate studies at the University of Nebraska, in Omaha, NB, and in 1970 received his bachelor’s degree in General Studies (Political Science). He then attended Officers Training School at Lackland AFB San Antonio TX, and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. He was assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations

(AFOSI – the Air Force version of the FBI). After graduation from the AFOSI Academy in Washington, DC Dale became a Special Agent in the OSI. He conducted and supervised criminal investigations, counterintelligence investigations and operations, executive protection operations (similar to the US Secret Service), and background investigations of USAF personnel for security clearances.

Dale served as a Special Agent at McClellan AFB Sacramento, CA; again at Clark AB, Philippines; New York, NY; Duluth AFB, MN; and HQ AFOSI, Washington, DC. At Headquarters AFOSI in Washington he was a counterintelligence analyst, criminal case supervisor, and information systems analyst. He went back to night school, and in 1979 received a master’s degree in Forensic Science from the George Washington University in Washington, DC. Dale also completed the Squadron Officers School, the Air Command & Staff College, and attended many other courses and seminars in management, investigative techniques, and information systems. He received many awards and decorations, and in 1980 he retired in the rank of Captain after 21 years on active duty with the US Army and US Air Force.

Dale then worked as a Manager for the Insurance Crime Prevention Institute in Westport, CT. In 1981 he returned to the Air Force and OSI as a civilian Special Agent (GM13). In 1984 after his father died in Fort Meyers, Florida, Dale moved to Fort Meyers to help his mother and worked as a Security Office for a large banking computer facility. In 1988 he returned to Michigan, resided in Hudsonville, and worked with a private investigator. In 1989 Dale moved to San Antonio, TX and worked as a Special Investigator investigating insurance fraud for USAA, a large firm that provides insurance and financial services to the US military. In 1996 he retired from USAA and returned to Florida to reside in the Punta Gorda area where he remained retired, and took up golf and eradicating the Brazilian Peppers from his community ( they had been declared an invasive species by the state of Florida).

Dale moved around quite a bit and never married. He was a member of the Association of Former OSI Special Agents Inc. (AFOSISA), and a lifetime member of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA). He is survived by his sisters Mary Vanderploeg, Peggy Stempfly, and his brothers David and Donald DeKraker.

Funeral services are scheduled for 1:00pm Friday, April 8, 2016 at Lakeshore Memorial Services with Military Honors to follow.

Burial will be in Graafschap Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 12noon until the time of the service Friday, April 8 prior to the service.