David was a Captain and Commander of A Company 391st Engineering Battalion stationed in Afghanistan in 2004-2005. Along with clearing mines and building new roads, he is incredibly proud of the “Roughneck Outreach Program” he and his unit organized to assist villages in Kocalh, Sob, Abam Mahemm, Molwenz & Qala’I Arza. After months of requesting and receiving much needed items from friends and family in the US, Captain Boeke was able to visit all these poverty-stricken villages and deliver much needed items such as blankets, shoes, clothing and toys. In a newsletter written after delivery, Captain Boeke said, “The villagers were very appreciative and when you saw all the shoeless children with holes in their clothes, it was easy to understand why! Only a small effort in terms of the overall poverty here, but for the families that were there, it meant additional comfort for the winter.”
Today, David is the COO of Van Winkle Law Firm. He has been actively involved with BRHF since his wife gave him the Christmas gift of a guardian slot with the Spring 2019 Flight. One trip and he was hooked – he has been willing to act as a stand-by guardian and was immediately recruited to fill the position when someone was not able to go on the morning of the September 2019 flight. David has also volunteered to help BRHF with outreach activities while we have been unable to fly. He has helped with ushering at the Brothers and Sisters Like These performance at Flat Rock Play House and willingly volunteered to help with preparing and serving dinner for the Veterans at the Veterans Restoration Quarters. Proving that no job is any less important than another, he helped prepare the meatloaf for the following evening and washed the dishes that had been used to prepare the meals, and then stepped up to the serving line and served the veterans. David is willing to show up and help out when needed and does not expect to be recognized for these services but certainly is an important part of our team. We look forward to having him as part of the team when we can fly again. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE, DAVID!!!!!!!