Will-full Memories

~ written by William Tua
Dave's dear friend

Dave!

David Alvarez, how much can I say of such a great man in such little time.

Many knew him as Dave; to his parents he was Davi; to fellow pilots in these past few years, he was called “B” with much affection; and for many years as a crew chief in the 160th, were he earned most of his war time decorations and was known very well, he was known as Nino. However you knew him, we all loved him the same.

Dave and I met about three and a half years ago, during our initial Warrant Officer training course at Ft. Rucker, AL. We both moved to Aviano, Italy after school on our first assignment, so we naturally stuck together. We found out that we were both Chinook crew chiefs during the same time and stationed in the same place twice (Ft. Campbell, KY. & Bagram, AF.) without even knowing each other. It was always amazing to me to see how our lives cross paths several times to eventually meet at a perfect time in both of our lives.

Dave really influenced my life in many ways. I thought of him as Mr. Detail. He would clean his truck so thoroughly that you might feel uncomfortable riding in it just to go for some lunch. His workout discipline was a motivation to me. He could do pull-ups like no one I had ever seen in my life. He would do about 25 pull-ups without giving a hint of struggle or any deep breathing and stop because he felt a little tired. Dave really did not like running but he would do it because knew he had to. He was always good enough to keep me striving for more.

Dave was a man of few words but much service. He was always the first person I would call if I needed anything and he never let me down. He was a guy that would rather sit back and take everything in around him than to be the center of attention. He was most comfortable when he was away somewhere spending time with his girls, Rachael (his wife), and Bella and Leah (his two dogs). You could often find this family of four spending quality time together. Only a privileged few knew of his "true identity". He was the original Beast Master. Any animal that met Dave always wanted to go home with him, especially my dog “Lola”.

I have many great memories of Dave but what I will treasure most was the many times we studied the Bible together. It all began over a year ago when Dave gave his life to the Lord. He told us about his decision during a men’s retreat in November 2006 and I few moths later I had the privilege to baptize him in the Santissima waters. It’s funny because I would share a verse with him and he had no eloquent words to say. He would either say “I don’t get it” or “HMM! I like that one." Dave was a very simple guy but had a great heart. It is amazing to me that the one I discipled will one day be teaching me of things in Heaven. As a very young boy, Dave told his mother, “Mom, I’m going to see Jesus in my lifetime.” And she said that she was sure he would and that is exactly where he is right now. I am thankful that I had this opportunity today to share with you a little about Dave and the joy he had loving Jesus Christ. Though we will miss Dave, I have peace in knowing that he is in a better place and that we will see each other one day on heaven’s shores. Until then, we love you Dave!