Dave's Story

Dave’s Parents were born of immigrants of Lithuania, settling in coal miner country in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Dave’s father, William, spent eight years in the U.S Army. He was captured by the Germans in WWII on Valentine’s Day, 1943, in Tunisia, North Africa. Many of you have seen the opening scene of the movie, Patton, where the Americans were badly routed by the more experienced German Army. This is where Bill was taken prisoner. He wound up being one of the longest held prisoners in WWII, having been held over 800 days outside of Hersenberg, Germany (ironically close to Berlin, where Dave would later be stationed). Bill had two other brothers who served in WWII.

The conditions in Bill’s camp caused him to lose over 50 pounds during his 880+ days in captivity. We know that the POWs absolutely lived for the Red Cross Packages, which were an indescribably powerful lifeline for them. This caused Dave to gain a profound respect for the power of charitable giving, so much so that he now enjoys advising high net worth clients regarding sophisticated charitable techniques, whereby capital gains, estate and income tax can be directed to charities of one’s choice. Since Dave advises many veterans regarding their financial affairs, there is natural affinity to assisting veterans in need.

Dave graduated from West Point in 1977. He completed Airborne School and Air Assault School. He then attended Artillery Officers Basics and Advanced Courses at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. Dave served 12 years as an artillery officer, to include as a two-time battery commander, having been stationed in the 101st Airborne at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky; and in Berlin Germany (while the Berlin Wall still existed). The 155-milimeter self-propelled howitzers shown were the main military weapon at that time. After commanding the largest artillery battery in the US Army (in the Berlin Brigade), Dave was the Battalion Operations Officer (S-3) for a 1,200-person battalion in Berlin. He finished his active-duty tour teaching Physical Education at West Point, after completing two Masters’ Degrees.

Dave started his career at Summit Financial in 1990. Thirty years later, Dave is now one of the twenty shareholders in Summit, and a Senior Wealth Planner specializing in assisting academy graduates, veterans, and high net worth executives in the aerospace defense industry. Dave believes his military background shaped him to be the man he is today. “Our clients served our country for many years, now it's time to serve them.”