In the flesh
The son of a Vietnam War veteran, David was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, but over the years, found himself living in various cities across California, Nevada, Florida, and Idaho. After high school, he worked many odd jobs, from manning the cash register as a late-night gas station attendant, to dragging couches up stairwells as a furniture delivery driver, selling cable TV as a door-to-door salesman, and hammering nails to build houses.
Shortly after the 9/11 attacks, David enlisted in the Army, and against his recruiter’s advice, joined the Infantry. He arrived with his family to their first duty station in upstate New York, just south of the Canadian border, in 2002.
With America already fighting a war in Afghanistan, the US began a second war in Iraq in early 2003 and David’s unit deployed there by the end of the summer. One year later, returning from combat with some bumps, bruises, and a few invisible scars, he was reassigned to a unit stationed in the middle of the Mojave Desert, California. From there, he was sent for a second time to fight in the ongoing war in Iraq.
Shortly after returning to American soil, he was handed orders for a coveted overseas assignment, and he packed up his young family and they moved to Bavaria, Germany. During the next four years, he explored many culturally rich cities such as Munich, Berlin, Dresden, Rome, and Prague; he discovered what beer is supposed to taste like; and completed a final 15 month combat deployment to Iraq and one year-long deployment to Afghanistan.
Finally returning to the USA in 2013, he was selected to serve as a Drill Sergeant in South Carolina. Three years later, he took off the “Brown Round”, the iconic headgear of the Drill Sergeant, packed up the rest of his gear, and reported to his last duty station just outside of Washington DC.
At ‘The Old Guard”, he earned the distinct privilege to lead other ceremonially-qualified soldiers marching into Arlington National Cemetery, rendering final honors for our Nation’s heroes in over 700 funerals.
Throughout his almost eight years at The Old Guard, David participated in the inaugurations of Presidents Donald Trump and Joseph Biden, was selected to serve as the front door guard at the funeral service of Senator John McCain, and then, less than three months later, managed a team of military personnel stationed inside the National Cathedral for President George HW Bush’s funeral.
As a seasoned ceremonial expert, he trained the joint-service casket-bearer teams performing the lying-in-state ceremonies for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and House Representative John Lewis at the US Capitol.
Before retirement from the Army, David volunteered to become the sexual assault response coordinator for his unit, educating soldiers about intentional and unintended sexual harassment, teaching effective prevention and intervention methods, and helping to connect victims of sexual violence with support programs designed to assist with recovery.
At retirement, Sergeant First Class Santana‘s three highest awards were the Meritorious Service Medal (x2), the Army Commendation Medal (x6), and the Army Achievement Medal (x6). He also earned the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Expert Marksmanship Badge, the German Marksmanship Badge (expert/gold), and the Drill Sergeant Badge. He also was awarded The Order of Saint Maurice.
He currently lives with his family in Washington, DC.
In my bones
At my core, I’m an artist.
The Army didn’t allow me much room for creative expression (I willfully traded it for financial stability, life experience, and structured personal growth), and thus, without a more consistent creative outlet, I turned my focus to teaching. As any of the soldiers who sat through one of my classes can attest, as a teacher (mentor, instructor, leader), I often used my creativity to find ways to communicate dry concepts. But, it wasn’t until the COVID-19 lockdown that I realized how long it had been since I’d created anything original.
I‘d been tinkering with an idea for a story for almost a decade, and suddenly, with the whole world ground to a standstill, I found myself with a little time on my hands. At the start, THE SHATTERED BONES was only supposed to be a short story, but then it kept going, and before long, it became a full scale novel... and then I realized there was even more story to tell.
Ultimately, I keep writing because it’s (mostly) fun. When I sit down to write, I generally know where the story is supposed to go, but I’m often surprised by how I get there, and every once in a while, I’m amazed by where we actually end up.
August 12, 2024
