Freedom Remembered

Born: May 3, 1984 in Woodbridge, Virginia
Died: December 21, 2004 in Mosul, Iraq

David was his mother’s only child, a bright light who held deep compassion for all living things. David thought of himself as a protector, a gentle young man who knew the difference between right and wrong. Once a friend, he was always your friend. A friend of his moved to the country when he was younger and David came for the weekend for a visit. He freaked out about all the cows that were living so close to the family and he spent the weekend “freeing” the turtles on the farm and taking them down to the lake. His friend wasn’t happy about living in the country and David showed him why he should appreciate it so much. A simple life there, he let his friend learn that was very important. David was very close to his family, especially his mother and grandmother, Anna. From first grade through graduation he was in the gifted student program, and joined the ROTC Program during high school. He earned the rank of Lieutenant by the age of 17 and enlisted in the Army National Guard in October 2001. He graduated from high school in June of 2002 and the following fall received training at Fort Leonard Wood. He was assigned to the 229th Engineer Battalion in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and took additional training as an emergency medical technician. He hoped to some day work for the sheriff’s department. David volunteered for a deployment to Iraq in December 2003, assigned to the Army National Guard’s 276th Engineer Battalion from West Point, Virginia. David was calm and quiet there, he understood people and always found the good in them. His fellow soldiers called him “Rerun” and said he was the best .50-caliber machine gunner in his battalion. He was very well respected. As long as he was up there they knew they would be ok, because he would take care of them. He never hesitated to help someone out, or to do a job that no one else wanted. On December 21, 2004, he was one of 13 soldiers who were killed when the enemy attacked the dining hall they were in. His military awards include posthumous awards of the Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal, and the Purple Heart. He was promoted to Sergeant from specialist. His mother Sonja and several other relatives survive him. His beloved grandmother Anna passed away in June of 2000.

David was buried in Quantico National Cemetery in section 5, site 4. His military headstone bears a sentence from his mom, “My Golden Boy”

The Sgt. David Alan Ruhren by Freedom Remembered, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.