David had an impressive 20 year career in the Army. In 2001, David was mobilized to help with the body recovery process at Ground Zero, he was then deployed to Iraq where he sustained a severe head injury.
After being medically retired from the Army, Dave found healing on a friend’s farm working with horses and cattle. “I found working with livestock to be an incredibly rewarding experience and very therapeutic. I found I could live life fully again, and have a sense of belonging, purpose, self-worth and joy. Things that were missing for far too long after my injury and during extended rehabilitation.” David and his family purchased on an old Amish property in upstate New York, which they have converted into a farm. The surrounding fields have been planted with corn and fenced for raising cattle.
Through the Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund, Dave was awarded with a Bob Woodruff Farming Fellowship. This grant enabled David to purchase a tractor and install electric fencing for his beef cattle business. Dave truly exemplifies the core values the military strives to represent.
