Staff Sergeant David J. Whitcher Sr. was born on the Fourth of July in 1986 in New London, New Hampshire, the son of Horace “Bud” and Kathleen (Morrison) Whitcher. The youngest of nine siblings, he grew up homeschooled in an A-frame house in the woods of Bradford, New Hampshire, where he came to love farming and carpentry. He ran his own carpentry business from the age of 12, and his work can still be seen around Bradford. He also worked at a local kennel as a teenager.
David knew from the age of six that he wanted to serve. After seeing John Wayne in The Green Berets as a boy, he decided he would be one. He even found an Army cot at the town dump and slept on it to get the feel of military life. He joined the Army after high school and was an honor graduate of Basic Training in 2004. He was assigned to the 27th Engineer Battalion with the 82nd Airborne Division and served a tour in Afghanistan. After returning home, he enlisted in the New Hampshire National Guard in 2008 as a carpentry and masonry specialist and deployed to Afghanistan again in 2010. In 2012 he earned an associate degree in criminal justice from NHTI in Concord.
In 2013 David returned to active duty with the 6th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Engineer Brigade, at Fort Richardson, Alaska. While there he volunteered for a humanitarian mission to Palau to rebuild roads, schools and hospitals. In 2014 he volunteered for Special Forces training, and in 2016 he graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course and was assigned to Company C, 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group as a Special Forces engineer sergeant. That fall he entered the Combat Diver Qualification Course at Key West, Florida, assigned to the 1st Special Warfare Training Group.
On November 2, 2016, David died during a dive training exercise off the coast of Key West. He was 30 years old. His decorations include three Army Commendation Medals, four Army Achievement Medals, the Valorous Unit Award, the Meritorious Unit Commendation, the Good Conduct Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the NATO Medal, the Combat Action Badge, the Parachutist Badge, the Special Forces Tab, the Governor’s Twenty Tab and the Expert in Competition Bronze Pistol and Rifle Badges.
David married Victoria, his first girlfriend, six months after they met, and they were married for 12 years. Their son, David Jr., was seven when he lost his father. A master carpenter who could build or fix anything, David’s last great project was a solar-powered tiny house on hinges that folded for travel. He towed it from New Hampshire to Alaska, and the family lived off the grid there for a year. “Victoria just looked at me and said, ‘If David says we can do it, we can do it,’ and they did it,” a family friend recalled. In Alaska David trained by hiking through the woods with his little son in a backpack, and he took daily walks with David Jr. on adventures that usually ended with the words “don’t tell your mother.”
Friends remember a quiet, strong man with a free spirit, an adventurous heart and a famous smile, the same smile his son inherited. He loved his church and his family and took great pride in being the best husband and father he could be. On November 16, 2016, eight Green Berets carried him to his rest at the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen. The town of Bradford dedicated its next Fourth of July celebration, on what would have been his 31st birthday, to his memory. David is survived by his wife, Victoria; his son, David Jr.; his mother, Kathleen; and his brothers and sisters.
Dave was a generous and kind soul who dedicated his life to being the best husband and father, and to protecting his team.
7th Special Forces Group Command
Sources
- U.S. Army: Press release, Special Forces Soldier dies during training (Nov. 4, 2016)
- Concord Monitor: For Staff Sgt. David Whitcher of Bradford, full military honors at his funeral (Nov. 17, 2016)
- Concord Monitor: New Hampshire soldier killed during training exercise in Florida
- Laconia Daily Sun: Obituary, David J. Whitcher Sr., 30
- Family-provided records on file with MVF: David Whitcher bio and family statement
