Army Hero: David M. Harrell
My Army hero is my dad, David Harrell. He served in the US Army for 20 years — from May 2nd, 1963 to June of 1983. When he retired, he was a Chief Warrant Officer 3. My dad is a survivor. Not only did he serve in Vietnam unscathed, he recently defeated cancer — twice.
Several years ago he was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer. Even after learning that there were only 4 stages of this cancer and that he was not a candidate for surgery, he kept his resolve. He had hunting and fishing to do in his retirement years and we was not planning on missing it. After many months of chemo, he was declared cancer free. About 2 months ago, he learned that he had more cancer under his tongue. After a quick surgery where he was cut from his ear to his neck, he was declared cancer-free again.
You’re my hero dad!!
Love,
Christine
November 12th, 2009 at 12:04 am
Hello David,
Thank you very much for serving our country. I want you to know that your name and Mr. Harrell’s name have been on our Wall of Honor for the Veterans Day celebration at school for several years now.
Retha always keeps me updated on how you are doing. You and your family are in my prayers.
Jennifer
November 12th, 2009 at 12:06 am
Christine,
What a wonderful tribute.
Jennifer
November 19th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Dave as a friend and colleague since the early 70s. He is a genuine American and this country would be greatly improved if we had more like him serving our country. I thank him for his many years of service to this country and hope to be able to continue our friendship for many years to come – Dave, I salute you. Ron