Dave Cauley to be State Commander of the VFW in South Dakota
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by Jill Funke
As a young man of 19, Dave Cauley of Larchwood began his military career. Raised in a military family, Dave lived in thirteen states and four different countries, which allowed him to experience more of the world than many other people even dream about. In 1964, he entered the Army. Even as a small child, Dave knew he would join the military when he was old enough. It wasn’t long before he was needed in Vietnam. When he arrived, Vietnam seemed very quiet. The absence of noise did not last long, as Dave soon heard the sounds of weapons and airplanes in the background. Within two hours of his arrival, Dave got his first human experience with war when he saw an American soldier get killed. While his Army training had given him a great deal of discipline, Dave says that he wasn’t prepared for witnessing death, and that there really is no way to prepare for an experience like that. Yet, he credits the discipline he developed in the military with getting him through the most difficult experiences in his life.
While in Vietnam, Dave remembers that contact with the enemy was usually very harsh. During search and destroy missions, Dave and his fellow soldiers would seek out the fighters who would often set up ambushes. Soldiers often jumped from helicopters into what they called ‘hot L-Zs’, or hot landing zones, which were full of enemy traps and amazing amounts of gunfire.
One day while he was in the field again, Dave was called at daybreak to help another unit that had experienced heavy casualties. As he looked overhead, he saw about two dozen helicopters with red crosses. Considering the number of choppers, Dave knew the situation would was bad. Dave and the soldiers with him found themselves in what he calls a battalion-size horseshoe ambush, and no matter what way the men turned, they were trapped. The men called for air strikes in an effort to get out. After more than five hours, Dave was left with no water and a weapon that wasn’t functioning. He was able to get another gun from a wounded solider, which wasn’t very helpful as it had less than one round of ammunition left. The men were finally able to get out and eventually, more soldiers arrived with ammunition, but the dehydrated men still had no water. It had been so dusty, it was unclear how many men were still trapped and in need of rescue. As the squad leader, Dave helped assemble the remaining soldiers and the men went back in. Right away they were under attack, receiving more gunfire than Dave thought was humanly possible. Ahead of them, an explosion flattened one of the tanks and the remaining men knew they were in trouble. As they surveyed their surroundings, they saw dead and wounded men all over, and they once again called for air strikes. The platoon sergeant was hit and unexpectedly fell back on Dave, and then Dave suddenly felt like someone had hit his upper body. Realizing that he’d been shot, Dave waited for the 1st Air Calvary to provide assistance. Covered in blood, he was loaded on a stretcher. As it had taken gunfire and was hanging behind him, Dave couldn’t find his left arm, but was reassured it was still there. On the way out of the battle, Dave and the others were hit again. This skirmish knocked Dave off his stretcher and left him with new injuries to his face and neck. When he was finally loaded into the chopper, Dave was the only seriously wounded soldier still alive.
Dave’s injuries were so severe that he was rushed ahead of the other wounded at the hospital. He knew that medical staff proposed to amputate his arm, so when they stuck his wounded arm with a needle, he told them he felt the pricks when in reality he had no feeling in that arm. Taking bone from his hip, surgeons reattached his arm to his shoulder. This was the first of 39 painful surgeries, as well as years of rehabilitation that Dave has endured as a result of his time in the Army. To this day, his left arm is 3 inches shorter than his right, and Dave cannot use it for many of his daily tasks.
After being discharged from the Army in June of 1968, Dave attended college at Georgia Tech and worked with the United States government as an engineer. After many years, he retired. When his daughter was killed, he made a promise to her at the funeral home that he would spend the rest of his life finding ways to help people.
In 1998, he began his involvement with the VFW. As time went on, he moved up in the organization, eventually becoming Commander of his post in Sioux Falls, then the district Commander of twelve posts, and is now in the second year of his five year process of becoming the state Commander in South Dakota. He became eligible for this position through a point system that recognizes various accomplishments. During the next few years before he takes his position in 2010, Dave will attend numerous functions and conventions around the state and nation, as well as the paperwork he is required to complete. When he takes office, his goal is simplify the process for all veterans to have their military records, get into the VA hospital, and receive the compensation they so rightly deserve.