Career
He was assigned to the USCGC Comanche during World World War II, which was assigned to escort a convoy that included the Dorchester, a troop transport, when it was torpedoed by a U-boat off Greenland. David volunteered to dive into the frigid waters to rescue exhausted crew and passengers from the Dorchester. David also rescued several other Comanche crew members, who grew exhausted.
Tragically, David came down with pneumonia after the exertion of the rescue, dying a few days later.
In 2010 when the Coast Guard decided that all the new Sentinel class cutters would be named after Coast Guard personnel who had been recognized for their heroism, David was one of those to be honored. The seventh cutter in the class is named She is the first Sentinel class cutter to be homeported in Key West, Florida.
