David Irwin “Dave” Haines was born in Chicago, IL on February 5, 1943. He was the son of Frances Eva Conklin Haines and Dr. Wallace E. Haines. His father was one of the founders of the National Prayer Breakfast, also known as the Presidential Prayer Breakfast, held in Washington, DC every year. Dr. Haines began his work in Europe in 1947, meeting with those in leadership positions to bring people together for peace and harmony.
David spent his youth in Nogent su Marne, Paris, and Versailles, where he and his two brothers attended French schools. He was fluent in French and continued to excel in his knowledge of the French language, far better than most native speakers.
The time his family spent in Europe afforded David the privilege of meeting those in leadership positions in both government and the private sector. The Haines family spent time with Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, where David would pass in and out of the castle gates just to hear the guard click his heels as he passed. He was allowed to ride the queen’s bicycle until his father thought that he had broken it; no one knows for sure if that is true, since David said he did not!
He played the piano and studied endlessly, with his mother making sure of that! David returned home to the United States to attend the Stony Brook School for Boys. There he had difficulty with math. One headmaster said he would never enter West Point with his lack of mathematical knowledge. David never accepted that he could not do something. He was tutored at the Braden Institute in New York, where he studied day and night. Once his father was called to come to the school. The headmaster found out that David had gone to the movies! David entered the United States Military Academy after his completion of exams.
Math was always difficult for him at the Academy. After “lights out,” he would use a flashlight and study his math during the night. He received many demerits for skipping Chapel to study for his engineering classes, also. Chaplain Ford noticed on occasion that he was missing from Chapel, and David spent over 100 hours walking the Area. He was determined to defeat the dreaded math! And he did!
Classmate Deme Clainos wrote, “Dave and I were roommates during the first semester of plebe year in D-2. The TAC officer told me that we were assigned together because Dave was weak in math, and he let me know that I was expected to ‘get him thru.’ That turned out to be easier than I thought it would be because Dave really tried hard. He was one of those who had a hard time with math and science but excelled in the arts. Dave loved French and spoke to me constantly in that language. I have the utmost respect for Dave as he persevered and made it thru the Academy!” Deme and Dave reconnected in Company D-4, where they spent many hours together making sure Dave would pass his physics exams.
Dave and his classmate went back and forth between ranking first and second in French at the Academy. Dave was also fluent in German and Vietnamese.
He was in both the Cadet Chapel Choir and the Cadet Glee Club. Colonel Frank J. Kobes of the Army Athletic Association presented Cadet David I. Haines, team coach of Company D-4, with the Jared William Morrow Trophy, given in honor of the Brigade Championship in intramural track. Dave graduated on June 8, 1966.
After graduation, David attended both Airborne and Ranger schools. He was afraid of heights but Jump School did not cure him. As an Infantry officer he served as the liaison officer, Allied Staff Berlin, and served two tours in Vietnam, receiving two Bronze Stars.
He arrived from California at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), MD to test the Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle. He happened to work for my father, one of the directors at the Ordnance School at APG. We met and dated. David’s parents came from Ascot, and soon after, Dr. Richard Halverson, chaplain of the Senate, and my father-in-law married us in Bethesda, MD in 1976.
David received his Master of Arts in International Relations from Boston University. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore School of Law.
David remained at Aberdeen Proving Ground as acting general counsel and briefings and demonstrations officer for Aberdeen Test Center.
To celebrate the publication of The Long Gray Line, the Class of 1966 had a dinner in Washington, DC for the author, Rick Atkinson. The class presented him with a saber from the Academy. Chaplain Ford, then chaplain of the House of Representatives, recognized David and said he remembered him skipping Chapel, especially since David’s father was a Methodist minister.
David adored his children: David Jonathan and Michele Ann. He was a very good father and enjoyed every moment with them.
David is survived by his wife, Barbara Ann Garofalo Haines; daughter, Michele Ann Haines; son, David Jonathan Haines; mother, Frances Eva Conklin Haines; father, Dr. Wallace E. Haines; brothers, Philip C. Haines and Stephen W. Haines; father-in-law, Lieutenant Colonel William E. Garofalo; mother-in-law, Ann J. Garofalo; and all of his loving cousins.
We miss you so very much! Blue Skies, Ranger! Be Thou at Peace.
— Barbara Haines and his D-4 classmates