Our father and hero, retired U.S. Navy Lt, James Warren David, will be celebrated and honored during a surprise birthday gathering in his hometown of Youngsville, La.
In his hometown, our father is known as Warren David (pronounced DAH-VEED). In the military, he was known as Jim David.
He served in WWII, driving the Higgins boats as a barely-18 year-old coxswain in the Solomon Islands. He served in Korea as a harbor pilot and in Vietnam.
He was interviewed at length, for over 2 hours, about his military experiences by the WWII Museum in New Orleans a few years back.
Our dad holds a horticulture degree from SLI (Southwestern Louisiana Institute), now named the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Upon retiring from the military, he taught horticulture at the brand-new Woodham High School in Pensacola, Fla.
Later, he and his brother, Donald Jacob David (retired Air Force), together opened up a True Value Hardware store on Pinhook Road in Lafayette, It served the surrounding community for over 45 years.
Married to Rose Aimee Larriviere of Youngsville for almost 63 years until her death, our father has 4 children: Glen James David of El Dorado, Ark., Deborah David Frey of Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., Kimberly David Scruggs of Austin, Texas, and Cynthia David Broussard of Fulshear, Texas. He has five grandchildren and two step-grandchildren.