DAVID S. GREENE, LTCOL, USMCR

David Greene '86

Date of birth: August 12, 1964

Date of death: July 28, 2004

Age: 39

Lucky Bag

From the 1986 Lucky Bag:

David S. Greene

Camden, New York

From out of the Great White North, alias Cramden, came David Scott the Astronaut. Dave was a model squid during Plebe Summer but transformed quickly to the Form-2 collection depot during the remaining 8 semesters. This sent Dave in search of an aggressive outlet which he found in Rugby. Dave never confused his priorities, with academics running a cool last place. The DC Beltway won't forget the "often seen, never caught" red Bemer; WOOF! Big, really huuuge Dave always was a flyer to the Corps and proved it on selection night. Good luck and best wishes to you always, Greeno.

David S. Greene

Camden, New York

From out of the Great White North, alias Cramden, came David Scott the Astronaut. Dave was a model squid during Plebe Summer but transformed quickly to the Form-2 collection depot during the remaining 8 semesters. This sent Dave in search of an aggressive outlet which he found in Rugby. Dave never confused his priorities, with academics running a cool last place. The DC Beltway won't forget the "often seen, never caught" red Bemer; WOOF! Big, really huuuge Dave always was a flyer to the Corps and proved it on selection night. Good luck and best wishes to you always, Greeno.

Loss

David was killed in action on July 28, 2004 when he was struck by ground fire while piloting an attack helicopter in Anbar Province, Iraq.

From Find A Grave:

LTC Greene was KIA in Iraq when ground fire hit the aircraft he was piloting while on a mission in Anbar province in support of I Marine Expeditionary Force. He was among the highest-ranking officers to die since the US-led coalition Iraq invasion in March 2003. He was activated in January 2004 when his Pennsylvania-based Marine Corps Reserve unit was assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 775 of the Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3D Marine Air Wing, based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, CA. He piloted AH-1W Cobra helicopters. A co-pilot aboard the two-seat helicopter was able to land the Cobra after LTC Greene was fatally hit by small arms fire from the ground.
LTC Greene graduated from the Naval Academy and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps in 1986 and remained on active duty until 1997. As a Marine Corps reservist, he traveled from Vermont to Johnstown PA for drills. Aside from his reservist duties, for the last three and a half years, he worked as a project manager at the BF Goodrich Aerospace plant in Vergennes VT.
On August 22, 2004, a group of Marines dedicated the airfield at Al Taqaddum Iraq to LTC Greene.
LTC Greene was from Raleigh NC but had most recently been living in Shelburne VT. He is survived by his wife; one son and one daughter; his parents; one brother; and two sisters.
There is a memorial stone for LTC Greene at Branford Center Cemetery, Branford, New Haven County, CT, documented in Find A Grave Memorial# 40078383

Memorial Service

From Black Five:

Story by Staff Sgt. A.C. Mink
Al Taqqadum, Iraq- (Aug. 6, 2004) --
“…If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run –
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man my son!”
These words from Rudyard Kipling’s poem, “If,” greeted hundreds of Marines, Sailors and Soldiers as they gathered at the chapel here Aug. 2 to pay homage to Lt. Col. David S. “Rhino” Greene, an AH-1W Super Cobra pilot and aviation maintenance officer with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 775, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. Greene was killed July 28 while providing cover for casualty evacuation of critically injured Marines and close air support to his fellow Marines on the ground.
The blow to this close-knit Marine aviation community was evident, though there were few outward displays during the service.
“The squadron’s stoic acceptance of a loss of a fellow warrior is indicative of her drive to complete a righteous and important mission,” said Col. Guy M. Close, commanding officer, MAG-16, under whom HMLA-775 falls while deployed to Iraq. “They’re well-led, once again demonstrating that they are among the best America has to offer.”
A platoon of Marines from Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, the infantry unit Greene was providing air support to when he was killed, were also on hand to pay their respect during the memorial ceremony.
Greene was a Marine reservist, who graduated from the Naval Academy in 1986. A native of Ilion, N.Y., he lived with his wife and two children in Shelburne, Vt., while assigned to Detachment A, HMLA-775, a reserve squadron based in Johnstown, Pa. He was known for his down-to-earth personality, good humor and judicious, well-considered counsel.
Lt. Col. Karl F. Frost, executive officer, HMLA-775, spoke of Greene’s “unassuming nobility.”
Voice cracking with emotion, he said, “If I could say one thing right now, it would be ‘thank you.’”
Greene, a project manager for B.F. Goodrich Aerospace in Vermont, was scheduled to return to the United States in just a few weeks.
“He had humor, wit and a perpetual smile for all around him,” said Lt. Col. Bruce S. Orner, commanding officer, HMLA-775. “He effortlessly enriched the lives of all with whom he came in contact.
“Our prayers go out to his family,” he added. “His ‘final’ mission was complete, and it was his time to go home.”
He is survived by his wife, Sarah, and children, Wesley and Jena.

Other Information

The Burlington Free Press carried an extensive article on Dave's life and loss including interviews with co-workers, neighbors and his USMC reserve unit on July 31, 2004. The paper further reported on his memorial service on August 8, 2004.

From the Journal News on September 11, 2004

David S. Greene had a penchant for mischief making. One day, after training at helicopter flight school, he decided to do something about a pesky pine tree that was blocking the afternoon sun.
Roommate David Weir recalled how Greene and another pilot just cut the tree down.
"This thing crashes. It knocks down four or five other trees," Weir said. "He walks back, sits down and grabs his beer, and says, 'I solved the problem, didn't I?'"
Greene, 39, a Raleigh, N.C., native who lived in Shelburne, Vt., died July 28 when the helicopter he was piloting was hit by ground fire. He was based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
In the same Connecticut church where Greene and his wife were married in 1989, the pilot was eulogized as a man with uncommon integrity and a generous streak.
"If he said he was going to do something, he did it. When he asked for something, he really needed it," said Weir.
Greene is survived by his wife, Sarah, and two children, Jena and Wesley.

He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.