Originally from Southern California, Dave voluntarily enlisted in the Army in 1967 as his friends were receiving their draft notices. During his time in the military, Dave served as a 62E20 Equipment Operator then as the Battalion Procurement NCOIC of Construction Material until April 1970.

After leaving the Army, he moved to Wenatchee and started a career with Washington State Parks, eventually shifting to a more local position with Eastmont Metro Parks & Recreation.

In 2011 he joined the VFW as a way to keep serving veterans. Since joining, he has served as Post Commander (2012-17), Quartermaster (2017-25), and Assistant Service Officer. He is also the Chairman of the Douglas County Veterans Advisory Board.

During Dave’s recent adventure flying in the B-17, Dave managed to injure himself somewhere between the flight safety briefing and boarding the aircraft. As luck would have it, there wasn’t a single Band-Aid to be found on the tarmac. So, during our recent quarterly luncheon he was presented with his own “Heroes First Aid Kit” that he can bring with him on his many future endeavors. He was also presented with a nicely framed picture of Sentimental Journey, the B-17G aircraft that he flew on courtesy of the Commemorative Air Force.

And to really let Dave know what we all thought of him, Commander Pieratt was proud to present him a “VFW Lifetime Achievement Award” from the membership of this Post and the veterans in our valley.  Thank you Dave for your many years of leadership and service!