By John Montesano
The Fox Valley Veterans Breakfast Club named David Luna the August Veteran of the Month.
He was born June 6, 1971 in Aurora and grew up on the East Side and attended East Aurora High School. He stopped after two years in June 1987. At age 17, he joined the U.S Army Reserves December 12, 1988 at his mother’s strong suggestion. She told him that, “If you get killed in the streets here, you are just another dog. If you killed in the war, you’ll be a hero. With everything that is going on here, I’d rather you be out there.”
David admits that is was probably the best decision because it changed his life. “I had a lot of uncontrolled energy without a lot of male role models in my life,” he said.
His basic training was at Fort Dix, N.J. and AIT (advanced individual training) in small arms repair was at Aberdeen Proving Ground in eastern Maryland. The Army was in his blood and David didn’t want to be home in the Reserves. He signed up for full-time active duty and in July 1989, he was sent to Fort Bliss, Texas and trained as a crew member the M163 Vulcan Air Defense System (VADS) which is an M61 Vulcan Gatling cannon mounted on the M113 Armored Personnel Carrier.
In September 1989 he was sent to Schwabach, Germany as part of the 63rd Air Defense Artillery under the 1st Armored Division. He learned about Germany and became fluent in the German language. He learned Russian, Italian, French, and the Russian spy situation. He earned his high school GED credential. Because he had a different focus and was in a more relaxed atmosphere, he accomplished these academic studies that he couldn’t do in high school. Germany was a breath of fresh air for David, compared to his chaotic home life of no father figure, single mom, dysfunctional family, and violent neighborhood.
The 1st Armored Division was a raid deployment unit, which meant that when the orders came down, the unit was immediately gone. January 3, 1991, the unit was ordered to Saudi Arabia to join Operation Desert Shield. The Operation Desert Storm ground campaign began February 24, 1991. The coalition forces drove into Iraq and February 26, successfully blocked the retreat of Iraq forces from Kuwait. David was a driver and assistant gunner on a Vulcan APC. One-hundred hours after the ground campaign started, February 28, president George H. W. Bush declared a cease fire, and Kuwait was liberated. David was surprised at how quickly the war was over. He didn’t think what he just had gone through was any big deal. He actually felt safer than when he was living in Aurora. However, one of the hardest things he has experienced was when someone was killed there would be a squad call with taps played after the soldier’s name was called three times.
Departing Kuwait in May 1991, David went to Fort Carson, Colo.. He became a warehouse supply specialist for the duration of his time. He was honorably discharged 3 March 1993 and returned to Aurora; back to the chaos he left. He felt lost. In 1997, he began training and competing in Tae Kwon Do. In 2000, he trained and toured in South Korea with the South Korean Olympic team. From 2001 to 2013, he won 10 North American National Championships, during which he owned and ran 36th Chamber Kung Fu School.
In 2013, his marriage ended. As a result, he lost his business and became a single dad of his two daughters, Liliana and Sicilia. From 2013 to 2017, he did whatever he could to put food on the table. In 2017, he became a licensed realtor and a licensed life insurance agent. In 2018, he started a moving business, All Secure Movers; and he owns 36th Chamber Wushu Kung Fu school in Oak Lawn.
On his returned home from the service, David has been on a non-stop self-education mode. Everything he does now is to change the path for his daughters and create a better life for them full of love and support.