Army 1st Lt. Bernstein was assigned to 1st Battalion (Airborne), 508th Infantry Regiment, 173rd Infantry Brigade, Camp Ederle, Italy. Bernstein was on patrol in his humvee near Taza along with several other vehicles. Their mission was to locate and destroy an enemy position from which RPGs had been fired at his company. Ambushed, and bleeding profusely from a leg wound, he helped free his driver who was pinned down by the overturned vehicle. He then returned fire to the enemy. David grew up in Austin, Texas, and moved to Phoenixville, Pa. during his junior and senior years. He was valedictorian at Phoenixville Area High School in 1997 where he played football and excelled on the swim team. He chose the military as a career and graduated fifth in his class at West Point four years later. While at West Point, he was a civil engineering major and a swim team member. He enjoyed running, bicycling and competing in triathlons. David's battalion is referred to as Europe's 911 squad, famous for its quick reactions, most often carried out by parachuting into war zones. He was dropped into northern Iraq at the beginning of the war and had remained there ever since. All he wanted was to do something for his country. David's parents were presented with a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart that had been awarded him.∼Valedictorian at his suburban Philadelphia high school and fifth in his class at the U.S. Military Academy, David R. Bernstein had the intelligence and ambition to do anything he wanted. "What he wanted was to do something for his country," said his father, Richard Bernstein of Knoxville, Tenn. Bernstein, 24, assigned to the 173rd Infantry Brigade based in Italy, was killed Oct. 18 when his patrol came under fire 160 miles north of Baghdad. Bernstein, who grew up in Austin, Texas, and moved to Phoenixville, Pa., was "an athlete and a scholar," his father said. He was a swim team member at West Point and enjoyed running, bicycling and competing in triathlons. "David was a soldier," his father said. "If the leadership made decisions, then he tried to follow them. He appreciated serving his country."
∼Army 1st Lieut. David R. Bernstein, 24 of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. Bernstein was killed in action in Taza, Iraq, when enemy forces ambushed his patrol using rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire. He was assigned to 1st Battalion (Airborne), 508th Infantry Regiment, 173rd Infantry Brigade, Camp Ederle, Italy.
∼Army 1st Lieut. David R. Bernstein, 24 of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. Bernstein was killed in action in Taza, Iraq, when enemy forces ambushed his patrol using rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire. He was assigned to 1st Battalion (Airborne), 508th Infantry Regiment, 173rd Infantry Brigade, Camp Ederle, Italy.
Army 1st Lt. Bernstein was assigned to 1st Battalion (Airborne), 508th Infantry Regiment, 173rd Infantry Brigade, Camp Ederle, Italy. Bernstein was on patrol in his humvee near Taza along with several other vehicles. Their mission was to locate and destroy an enemy position from which RPGs had been fired at his company. Ambushed, and bleeding profusely from a leg wound, he helped free his driver who was pinned down by the overturned vehicle. He then returned fire to the enemy. David grew up in Austin, Texas, and moved to Phoenixville, Pa. during his junior and senior years. He was valedictorian at Phoenixville Area High School in 1997 where he played football and excelled on the swim team. He chose the military as a career and graduated fifth in his class at West Point four years later. While at West Point, he was a civil engineering major and a swim team member. He enjoyed running, bicycling and competing in triathlons. David's battalion is referred to as Europe's 911 squad, famous for its quick reactions, most often carried out by parachuting into war zones. He was dropped into northern Iraq at the beginning of the war and had remained there ever since. All he wanted was to do something for his country. David's parents were presented with a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart that had been awarded him.∼Valedictorian at his suburban Philadelphia high school and fifth in his class at the U.S. Military Academy, David R. Bernstein had the intelligence and ambition to do anything he wanted. "What he wanted was to do something for his country," said his father, Richard Bernstein of Knoxville, Tenn. Bernstein, 24, assigned to the 173rd Infantry Brigade based in Italy, was killed Oct. 18 when his patrol came under fire 160 miles north of Baghdad. Bernstein, who grew up in Austin, Texas, and moved to Phoenixville, Pa., was "an athlete and a scholar," his father said. He was a swim team member at West Point and enjoyed running, bicycling and competing in triathlons. "David was a soldier," his father said. "If the leadership made decisions, then he tried to follow them. He appreciated serving his country."
∼Army 1st Lieut. David R. Bernstein, 24 of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. Bernstein was killed in action in Taza, Iraq, when enemy forces ambushed his patrol using rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire. He was assigned to 1st Battalion (Airborne), 508th Infantry Regiment, 173rd Infantry Brigade, Camp Ederle, Italy.
∼Army 1st Lieut. David R. Bernstein, 24 of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. Bernstein was killed in action in Taza, Iraq, when enemy forces ambushed his patrol using rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire. He was assigned to 1st Battalion (Airborne), 508th Infantry Regiment, 173rd Infantry Brigade, Camp Ederle, Italy.
Bio by: Brenda N
