David and Goliath
by Kevin Fritz
With grit, determination, drive, and perseverance, David Brown of Sanford is proof that you can accomplish just about anything in life, even in the face of great odds and naysayers along the way.
Despite his small stature – David is five-foot-three-inches tall – and being told repeatedly that he was limited in what he could undertake, at age 18 he became a Navy SEAL. The United States Navy SEAL (Sea, Air, and Land) Teams are the Navy’s primary special operations force.
From that elite group, David went on to enjoy a long career as a federal investigator. And this year, he became an author, releasing the book And Goliath – The Littlest Navy SEAL’s Inspirational Story About Living Your Biggest Life.
David’s life journey, which began 62 years ago in a former coal town, is both heart-wrenching and motivational.
Born and raised in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, David endured years of bullying simply because of his diminutive size. Thanks to his mom, a feisty Irish woman who taught him how to defend himself, he began to gain a reputation that he would not go down without a fight.
Determined to show detractors that his height and weight were not deterrents, David played football in high school but soon learned even his own fortitude could not defeat physics.
“It was a seminal moment in my life,” says David, who had better success as a 98-pound wrestler. “I quit the football team and swore that I would never quit anything again. It changed my life.”
Don’t Stop Believing
Yearning to have a career associated with the ocean, David considered the Coast Guard before settling on the Navy. A recruiter showed him a book of options and David chose BUD/S – Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training.
The recruiter told him he would never pass the physical screening test to qualify for the program, yet David was the only one in his company who did pass. Weighing just 100 pounds, David entered boot camp in Coronado, California a year after high school, only to have an officer laugh in his face at check-in.
“I had no idea what I was getting into,” recalls David. “In my mind, I was going to be like Jacques Cousteau with a machine gun.”
During the grueling 24-week course, David pulled a groin muscle prior to a required four-mile run. He finished but cracked both shins and failed to pass the task on time. David was allowed to roll back, meaning he could start over, because the instructor figured anyone who could run on two broken legs and a pulled muscle was tough enough to be given a second chance.
After BUD/S graduation, David was assigned to Underwater Demolition Team 21 and SEAL Team 4. He became the Team photographer, which allowed him to travel around the world. His many adventures included swimming with penguins in South America, dining with the grandson of a cannibal, and hanging onto the side of a nuclear submarine while it was moving.
Serving His Country and Community
After his military service, David joined the federal government and continued to travel and protect the United States. He worked for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) handling street crime, followed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Criminal Investigations Division, and then for the Office of Inspector General U.S. Department of the Interior.
Retired now and married to wife Sheryl for 20 years, David has a daughter from a previous marriage. More recently, he has become an advocate for public safety in the couple’s community off Longwood Markham Road. David advocated for and won improved safety measures in the area, including a crosswalk and lower speed limit after a pedestrian was killed. And now, David is the published author of his And Goliath memoir, written with journalist Robert Gettlin.
“Being an author was not on my bucket list,” says David. “Everyone has a story, but I wanted mine to be meaningful and help people look within themselves and benefit from the things I wrote.
“If you have the persistence I do, you do not sit still,” he adds. “You move to the next mountain. I have protected the country, the citizens, and now the neighborhood.”