Veterans Among Us: David Eifert

When David Eifert arrived in Oxford in the fall of 1965, he had already had an auspicious start with public education. 

“I didn’t like school from the first day of second grade, and my grades at Miami proved that I carried this dislike for a long time,” Eifert said. “But when I was 11 years old, my father said that I needed to be a dentist.”

Eifert’s family moved from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Delaware, Ohio in the 1950s. The family brought with it a long line of tradition of family members serving in the military in the Army, the Navy and the Marines. 

“My dad was a Marine and my grandfather was on a troop ship almost 50 years, to the week, from when I was on an airplane headed to Vietnam,” Eifert said. 

Eifert’s efforts to become a better student in 1965 at Miami were not that successful, but he was very successful on at least one occasion – on a blind date with his future wife, Jane, Miami ‘67. 

“I consider this date to be the luckiest day of my life,” Eifert said. 

In November 1966, Eifert left Miami with failing grades realizing that the draft was ahead of him because his student deferment was over. In the following months he kept in touch with Jane, and he was drafted into the Army in September 1967. 

He went to Fort Knox, Kentucky, for basic training, followed by Fort Ord, California, for Advanced Infantry Training (AIT). From Fort Ord, Ed was on assignment in Hawaii with Bravo Company, 4th Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment of the 11th LIGHT Infantry Brigade (B/4/21st/11th) in the Americal Division. The 4/21/11 (The Gimlets) has a storied Army history dating back to the American Civil War. Formed in 1861, it was reactivated in Hawaii in 1967 prior to being deployed to Vietnam in April 1968. David was part of this deployment. David and Jane were married one week before David’s departure for Vietnam. 

David was trained in Mortars with the 4th of the 21 st. His unit walked and fought in Vietnam’s Quang Ngai Province (I Corps) for a number of months between 1968 and 1969. 

Later in his tour, he was assigned to train in mortars at the Brigade level before his discharge from the Army in June 1969. David and Jane returned to Oxford where David used his GI Bill benefits to graduate from Miami in 1972. He then opted to follow his father’s early advice about being a dentist, and he used GI Bill benefits to enroll in Ohio State’s Dental School. He graduated from Ohio State in 1975.

David and Jane returned to Oxford to establish David’s dental practice. He treated hundreds of loyal patients before selling the practice in 2015.

In retirement, David found cycling to be his passion. He was a competitive mountain e-bike racer for a number of years at venues all over the United States.

While training for these events, he often rode 100 miles a week all over Oxford and its surroundings. He has since ‘retired’ to an e-bike, and he continues to ride when he can.

When David reflected on what his Army service meant to him, he quickly offered that he was proud of the men he served with and that he was able to survive his time in Vietnam. He is also grateful for the GI Bill benefits that propelled him forward in life.

David was also not hesitant to say, “We should have a national draft because we would have to ask better questions about our role in the world.”

In 2019, Slater Davis, a member of 4/21/11, published “In the Shadow of Heroes: The Story of Bravo Company 4/21 in Vietnam.” In his introduction to the text he says, “Many of these men served with valor and bravery. Some were publicly recognized for their acts of valor, but many more of these were never singled out for recognition. They remember how they sacrificed.” 

David Eifert and millions of others, past and present, understand this sacrifice. They readily understand it as a duty to the country and those around them.

They put aside their personal wants and desires and stepped forward to serve.

They are waiting for recognition from those who think they went in the wrong direction.

Lee Fisher is a Miami graduate, resident of Oxford, Ohio and a Vietnam War veteran.