Staff Sgt. David M. Veverka

By Tom Davidson

Although he only lived a quarter century, Staff Sgt. David Michael Veverka left his mark in many ways.

He’s the most recent soldier with local ties to be killed in Iraq and is the youngest.

A small-town boy with big dreams, his elementary school principal remembers his smile the most.

“He had this quirky smile,” Mary Reames said of David. “It would make you smile.”

She remembers him as a well-mannered, quiet boy who “made his mark.”

“He didn’t stand out in a crowd or make a spectacle of himself,” Mrs. Reames said.

But he possessed a quiet determination that was evident in his accomplishments, she said.

As a Jamestown Muskie basketball star, he played center — despite being shorther than 6 feet. He joined the Army after graduating in 1999, and was chosen to be a member of the elite Old Guard that watches over the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington (Va.) National Cemetery.

After three years, he was discharged, went to the University of Maine and joined the Maine National Guard to help pay for college. He wanted to be a marine biologist and researcher.

His studies were interrupted when his unit was deployed in January and he went to Iraq in March. He was killed by a roadside bomb on May 6 and died in a military hospital in Baghdad shortly afterward.

“It’s such a tragedy,” Mrs. Reames said.

Veverka died a hero.

He and Sgt. Dale James Kelly Jr., 48, of Richmond, Maine, died from the blast, but Pvt. Chris Fraser, 19, of Windsor, Maine, is alive thanks to David.

“He saved Chris’ life,” said Fraser’s mother, Debra Gosselin of Gardiner, Maine. “He’s a hero.”

Fraser told his mother that he, Kelly and Veverka were riding in the front truck of a convoy when they came upon a man with two young children. The man apparently threw a bomb at the truck, which exploded just as David pulled Chris down into the vehicle, Mrs. Gosselin said.

“That was David,” Ronald Veverka said of his son’s actions.

His voice stuck with pride when he talked. “That’s the way David was. I am so proud,” Ronald Veverka said.

The University of Maine honored David at spring commencement and he was posthumously awarded his bachelor’s degree in wildlife ecology. He was eight credits shy of graduating when he died.

“We received the degree and the letter they wrote is just wonderful,” Ronald Veverka said. “It’s just truly an honor and it wasn’t supposed to happen (this way), but I’m grateful for everything that’s going on now.”

David had already traveled across the country pursuing his interest. He’d wanted to work at San Diego’s Sea World, then pursue graduate studies in Alaska.

Instead, on May 17 he was buried at Arlington, where his is one of more than 300,000 graves. Veverka’s grave site is 8330 in Section 60.

At the funeral, the mournful notes of “Taps” resonated across the hillside. The plain, white tombstones look like an army of soldiers in parade formation. Perfectly-folded flags were presented to David’s mom, Carol Polley, and his father, Ronald Veverka of Sharon.

They were also presented with the Bronze Star and Purple Heart that David earned.

The David Veverka Memorial Fund has been established to honor him. It will fund a scholarship for a college-bound student at Jamestown High.

Contributions can be made at the Jamestown branch of First National Bank of Pennsylvania.

Proud parents’ worst nightmare comes true

Carol Polley had a sick feeling the day her son David was killed in Iraq.

“The whole day, Carol kept asking if Dave was OK,” her husband Jeff said.

She had trouble getting to sleep May 6 and woke up to a knock at the door at 2:30 a.m., when they were notified that David had been killed.

That his son could be killed in Iraq wasn’t something his father Ronald even thought about.

“We never thought we’d do this,” Ronald said of burying his son. “I never even thought about (it).”

Ronald described his son as someone who was “always the best” at what he did.

“He excelled, no matter what he did,” Ronald said. “We are losing a really great kid.”

“He told us before he left that this was his calling,” he said. “I’m very proud of David, it’s something he had to do.”

Jeff Polley said his stepson was adament about answering the call to duty because of the benefits he received from the Army. His tuition at school was paid and his pay for serving in the National Guard covered his living expenses.

David reassured his mom about his feelings before he left and he had a positive attitude about the war.

“He wasn’t afraid, he was excited to go,” Mrs. Polley said. “He said, ‘Mom, I’m OK, everything’s cool.’ ”

He regularly phoned and e-mailed his family, including his brothers Keith and Douglas and sister Sandra.

Carol Polley said she felt something was wrong and couldn’t sleep Friday, May 5. “I worry about David 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week,” she said.

Throughout Saturday, she said she couldn’t get her son out of her mind and wondered what she would do if something were happening to him.

“I said, ‘What would I do?’ if I saw military men out there,” Mrs. Polley said. “Well, that night I found out. I’m still alive. I’ll never forget those three men standing there.”

“David did everything he wanted to do. He was very happy with everything he had done in his life.

“I feel like a part of me … just died. ... It’s such an awful thing.”

Entire town mourns

He was the toast of Jamestown.

“There’re no words to describe” the outpouring of support from the people in the town, since Staff Sgt. David Michael Veverka was killed May 6, his father Ronald said

“I don’t know how to thank everybody,” he said. “It has helped so much.”

Word of Veverka’s death spread quickly through the town of about 500. Signs honoring him sprung up at most businesses and flags appeared outside most houses.

When Veverka’s remains arrived May 12, the town shut down. Students were dismissed from school early and Liberty Street was lined with teary-eyed people.

When the hearse carrying David’s body rolled under Jamestown’s stone arch, the only sounds that could be heard were the wind blowing the flags people held and muffled sobs.

His body was taken for a final ride through town, going down the main drag, then past Jamestown High School before stopping outside Randall Funeral Home on Scipio Street.

Men removed their hats and children waved small flags and held banners lauding Sgt. Veverka. The solemn silence was broken by the toll of Jamestown Presbyterian’s church bell, then the sound of the footsteps of the honor guard carrying Sgt. Veverka’s casket from Scipio Street into the funeral home.

People hugged and cried and comforted each other as Jamestown mourned its first fallen soldier since the Vietnam era.

“It’s such a heartache for the community,” Mary Waters said. “It’s one of the saddest days Jamestown’s had.”

Mrs. Waters said she watched David grow up. “He was just a wonderful person.”

“It’s just heartbreaking,” said her husband Dan.

Their oldest son Scott served in Iraq and is working there for a private security firm.

Sally Demmler knew David as her granddaughter Kiley Demmler’s prom date.

Kiley Demmler named her son, Jason David, after Veverka in part, Sally Demmler said.

She was moved to tears when thinking about Veverka’s death.

“How many more are going to come back like this, for what?” she asked. “He was such a promising young man.”

David had the makings of a bright future, she said.

“He had a chance to be a wonderful man,” she said. “I hope the best of him remains with the people who knew him.”

“It’s hard in a little town like this where everyone knows everyone,” she said.

Shirl Paxton works with David’s mom at the Stone Arch restaurant in Hempfield Township.

“He’s a hero,” Ms. Paxton said. “You can’t be from here and not know him. We all know he was where he wanted to be. His parents should be proud of him.”

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