David Owen Byars III a third-generation West Pointer, reported to the man in the red sash in Central Area on July 1, 1965, with hopes and dreams of conquering not only West Point but the world afterwards.
Gaily Bedight, / A Gallant Knight, / In sunshine and in shadow, / Had journeyed long, / singing a song, / In search of Eldorado
Plebe year mellowed Dave’s boldness and brashness a bit, but not his natural adeptness. He easily made the dean’s list, which led to opportunities in many extra-curricular activities, such as SCUSA, the Water Polo Team, and president of the Audio Club. His impressive senior year research project displayed laser holograms, well ahead of his times.
Dave’s branch choice was Armor. After completing the Armor Officer Basic Course, Ranger, Airborne, and Jungle Warfare schools, Dave reported to the 23rd Infantry (Americal) Division as an armored Cavalry platoon leader in F Troop, 17th Cavalry Squadron in August 1970.
On February 22, 1971, he was involved in an action that would earn him the Silver Star and change the rest of his life. The citation describes how Dave, while setting up a defensive perimeter for the evening, received word of an “important arms cache and enemy headquarters location” some three kilometers away. He immediately alerted his troops and deployed to the location, “gaining both surprise and the shock value of a raid.” Dave’s unit eliminated the enemy. While consolidating, Dave noticed a fresh footpath leading over the crest of the hill where additional enemy positions were located. Investigating the footpath, Dave inadvertently triggered a booby trap and sustained serious injuries necessitating his medical evacuation.
While recovering from his injuries at Camp Zama, Japan, Dave met and fell in love with this physical therapist, Anne Rush, and they were married in August 1971. In 1972, Dave was promoted to captain and medically retired.
But he grew old— / this knight so bold— / And o’er his heart a shadow / Fell, as he found / No spot of ground / That looked like Eldorado
Despite the disappointment of the abrupt end of his Army career, Dave cheerfully embraced opportunity. He was admitted to Stanford University, graduating with an MBA in 1974, which led to experience with two manufacturing companies in the San Francisco area.  There, in June 1978, their first child, Lindsay, was born. Soon after, the Byars moved to McCall, ID, where Dave established and operated McCall Tire and Auto. In May 1980, their son David Owen Byars IV was born.
Dave never wallowed in self-pity and always tried to put a positive spin on his physical situation. When the family would go out to dinner, Dave would enjoy holding up his four-fingered hand to indicate four beers, startling the waitress.
In the years Dave ran McCall Tire and Auto, he was active in local civic affairs and was active in the Elks, Optimist, and Rotary clubs. After 27 years, Dave and Anne chose to end their marriage but remained on friendly terms.
And, as his strength / Failed him at length, / He met a pilgrim shadow— / ‘Shadow,’ said he, / Where can it be— / This land of Eldorado?
In October 2014, he married Harriett, who became his loving helpmate until the end of his life. Dave’s health began to fail and eventually became serious enough that he had to move to Boise to be near the VA Medical Center. His kidneys had failed, resulting in his need for permanent dialysis. Throughout this ordeal, Dave was always cheerful, optimistic and positive in describing his condition, thus few realized its seriousness.
Such was the situation on December 6, 2018 when I called him to touch base and learned to my dismay that he was to go into surgery the very next day to have both legs amputated above the knee due to extreme neuropathy. Even in the face of another surgery, Dave was cheerful and looking forward to better days.
He rallied after the operation, and classmate Bo Moore remarked how upbeat Dave was in the face all he had endured. He was able to go home on December 13, just one week after the procedure. After the nurses got him settled and set up to watch his favorite TV show (“Jeopardy”), and while the family were preparing him a steak dinner to celebrate his return from the hospital, the “pilgrim shadow” came. Like his grandfather in World War I and his father in World War II, Dave had finally succumbed to injuries that had plagued him for a lifetime, thus exemplifying the family’s time-honored history of sacrifice in service to the Nation: Duty, Honor, Country indeed!
‘Over the Mountains, / Of the Moon, / Down the Valley of the Shadow, / Ride boldly ride,’ / The shade replied— / ‘If you seek for Eldorado!’
Dave’s memorial service was at the Boise Church of Christ, fittingly located on Eldorado Street. The service was moving and inspirational, with over 100 attendees. I was honored to give a eulogy, in which I described how each stanza of Edgar Allen Poe’s “Eldorado” seemed to fit a phase of Dave’s life, and how he embodied these words of the Cadet Prayer: “Kindle our hearts in fellowship with those of a cheerful countenance.”
Despite his injuries and health issues, Dave was always the optimist, most happy in the presence of his family, especially his grandson Owen. Harriett remarked how good he always was to her, “He was loved by family and friends and will be sorely missed.”
Well Done, Dave! You found your Eldorado. “Be Thou at Peace.”
 — William H. Ward ’69, classmates, and family