David Albin Boris

West Point, 1999

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Jonathan Ng on June 24, 2008:

Dave was a Firstie in E-2 when I was a Plebe. He served as the Company XO during 1st Semester, and despite the position and being a Firstie, carried himself in a quiet yet commanding manner. He was never one to yell or raise his voice much. When he started to recruit and train our company Sandhurst team, for a competition that wouldn't occur until May, I joined just based on what I observed about Dave. I had gathered that, aside form his girlfriend at the time, the Sandhurst competition was the second most motivating thing to Dave at the Academy that he was truly excited about doing. I learned more about leadership from Dave Boris than any other upper-class Cadet at the Academy during my tenure. He helped mold me into what kind of upper-class cadet I would be, and eventually, military officer. He defined and showed me the right way to team-build, to foster cohesion in a group - the fundamental lessons I personally learned from him made me successful in Iraq. Dave literally led from the front, on every run, road march, or event we trained or conducted. Sometimes he was even upset if he thought we didn't run hard enough to the point of almost vomiting. He broke his arm a few weeks or so before the Competition, but continued to train the team and ran with us on game-day, with a his big cast on his arm. The morning of the competition, he cooked rice for the team in his room - odd breakfast meal, but true dedication. He always took the time to talk to me, ask about academics, my family, life in general. Never hesitated to offer me help with math, or offer advice about the academy and the Army. Last time I physically saw him was a few months after his graduation, when I was at Fort Knox for Buckner summer in '99. I saw him driving around post in his Jeep Wrangler. When I was stationed in Vicenza, I saw his change-of-command photo in the local paper, and thought to myself that the Soldiers in his Troop were getting the best commander in the 173rd Brigade. There is only one thing he loved more than the Corps, his Soldiers, and the Army - his wife. I extend my condoloences to his family, and wish I had posted this sooner. I always keep Dave Boris in my prayers. God bless.

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