David served with the 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team—the Black Hearts—of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). Prior missions included combat deployments to Ghazni, Afghanistan and Baghdad, Iraq.
September 30, 2010
During a patrol through heavily mined farmland in Afghanistan's Arghandab River Valley, David and his platoon came under heavy enemy fire. When an Afghan soldier stepped toward uncleared ground, David ran after him and pushed him back to safety. In that instant, David's own foot landed on an improvised explosive device.
The blast cost him both legs, severely damaged his spinal cord, and left him with a traumatic brain injury and other life-altering wounds. His action saved the soldier and protected the rest of his patrol. The months that followed brought countless surgeries and the long work of rebuilding a life.
Valor, recognition, service
For his gallantry and intrepidity in combat, David received the Silver Star and Purple Heart. In 2011, the USO named him Soldier of the Year. His service was recognized in the United States Congressional Record, and he was inducted into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
Life after the battlefield
With help from the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation and its partners, David moved into a specially adapted smart home designed around independence. Today, he brings the same focus and discipline that carried him through combat into fatherhood, building, designing, mentoring, and solving the next problem.
About this site
This is David's platform to share his own thoughts—uninterrupted—on his past, his future, and the day-to-day work between them. It is a place for honest stories, considered opinions, practical experiments, and civil conversation.
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