Talk:David A. Christian

Further Avenues for Research/work needed
1. Google books: Ignore Victor Six obviously, and don't confuse him with the history professor. Christian's work seems to have gotten covered in several books. Political Almanac and Politics in America should provide enough info for Senate campaign. Also he's mentioned a bit in Bias.

2. Google News:

He seems to have generated coverage for a long time. With how acrimonious the 2 senate campaigns were, it's likely somebody went digging into his military record. Should be an easy way to verify the awards list.

3. Find VA and Congressional advisor documentation if possible.

4. Vietnam memorial involvement/speech

5. Worst case scenario "Boomer Gen" mentions him testifying before Congress with all medals. Maybe the congressman presenting him read highlights into Congressional Record?

Horrorshowj 03:13, 16 July 2007 (UTC)

I am responding to Horrorshowj and EarthPerson on your questions and on Mr. Christian's support for the Vietnam Memorial. Please contact Jan Scruggs (founder of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial at jimb@usdreams.com for his statement of David. Scruggs is quoted on the back of the book Victor Six saying "Dave Christian was a significant part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial effort in Washington. When the memorial came under attack, "Dave Christian" charged forward. The Nation and I will always be thankful for Dave's courage." David worked on veteran's affairs under the Carter Administration until his outspokeness got him fired. When David was offered the head of the VA under the Reagan administration, he turned it down because he would not be able to function freely to get the benefits for our veterans and he pursued other avenues to get those benefits and was successful. 1. I can forward to you the pages of the letter to President Reagan. 2. See "The Bulletin" of Philadelphia and you will note the coverage of turning down the job was on the front page above the fold in the 4th largest newspaper in the United States at the time. 3. See - New York Times, Jan. 25, 1979 above the fold FRONT PAGE. "Highly Decorated Veteran Ousted". 4. See - New York Times Archives. for example- NY Times Magazine 5. People Magazine - time frame 1980. 6. Fox News - I can forwarded you his ID credentials. 7. US Senate Credentials - I can forward these ID credentials, too. 8. Please Note - he received his commission at Officer Candidate School, Ft, Benning, GA. 9. He received the Combat Infantry Badge from serving with the Long Range Recon Patrol, Ist INf Div, Viet Nam.

Please feel free to verify, edit and add this information to his info page. Let me know if you want me to e-mail you the documents I have for verification and a nation of veterans will be thankful for your assistance. Serinwing 03:33, 17 July 2007 (UTC)serinwing

I am responding to Horrorshowj and EarthPerson on your questions and on Mr. Christian's support for the Vietnam Memorial. Please contact Jan Scruggs (founder of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial at jimb@usdreams.com for his statement of David. Scruggs is quoted on the back of the book Victor Six saying "Dave Christian was a significant part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial effort in Washington. When the memorial came under attack, "Dave Christian" charged forward. The Nation and I will always be thankful for Dave's courage." David worked on veteran's affairs under the Carter Administration until his outspokeness got him fired. When David was offered the head of the VA under the Reagan administration, he turned it down because he would not be able to function freely to get the benefits for our veterans and he pursued other avenues to get those benefits and was successful. 1. I can forward to you the pages of the letter to President Reagan. 2. See "The Bulletin" of Philadelphia and you will note the coverage of turning down the job was on the front page above the fold in the 4th largest newspaper in the United States at the time. 3. See - New York Times, Jan. 25, 1979 above the fold FRONT PAGE. "Highly Decorated Veteran Ousted". 4. See - New York Times Archives. for example- NY Times Magazine 5. People Magazine - time frame 1980. 6. Fox News - I can forwarded you his ID credentials. 7. US Senate Credentials - I can forward these ID credentials, too. 8. Please Note - he received his commission at Officer Candidate School, Ft, Benning, GA. 9. He received the Combat Infantry Badge from serving with the Long Range Recon Patrol, Ist INF Div, Viet Nam. Do not ignore the word "Youngest" when sourcing the Most Decorated Army Officer. The Army has no other. If anyone wants to verify this info...let me know. I know this man personally and this is only a snipet of what he has done and still does.Serinwing 11:22, 18 July 2007 (UTC)serinwing

Strong Keep
I did not do the first creation on this page, but when I found it, I did a minor spelling edit. Those of you who are well developed in Wikipedia editing that I contacted and provided proof of claims for all of Mr. Christian's accomplishments, I await your reply. He definitely is the Youngest and most decorated American Officer of the Vietnam War. That fact alone warrants his mention, even without all of the other notable and verifiable events. If you want more proof and want to go a step further, I will provide you with a real live military historian....not one that claims to be one..but somebody that still lives an active military life. Any editor on this site, with the ability to properly document, I welcome your expert assistance.Serinwing 18:59, 19 July 2007 (UTC)serinwing

Strong Keep
I have known Captain David A. Christian, U.S. Army (Retired) since 1990 and have accompanied him on numerous and hazardous assignments overseas. His quiet and strong leadership while on these assignments really came through when needed. Contrary to Wikipedia contributors Nobunaga24, Blueboy96, Charlene, Dhartung, Hu, Kirill, Metropolitan90, and Darrenhusted; David doesn't seek out the public spotlight but only when it requires him to provide his expertise. In regard to the statement that multiple decorations have been awarded to other members of the U.S. Armed Forces, David A. Christian was awarded all of his decorations prior to his 20th birthday and in less than 12 months of the required U.S. Army tour of duty in South Vietnam. This does make him notable in U.S. military history! David A. Christian was originally set to be selected as the Administrator of the Veterans Adminstration during the first Reagan Administration but when he was told that he would have to state that there was nothing to the complaints about Agent Orange and that he would have to accept the cuts in the VA budget by then OMB Director, David Stockman; he refused. The subsequent individual to head it was Robert P. Nimmo, who forced then Deputy Administrator of the VA, Chuck Hagel (currently U.S. Senator from Nebraska) to resign over Nimmo's negative comments about Agent Orange and the Vet Centers. Former members of David A. Christian's platoon have been instrumental in attempting to have his DSC upgraded to the Medal of Honor. Papers have been located that weren't part of the original submitted paperwork and they are making their way through the awards system. The term "shock and awe" was penned by David A. Christian in his book, Victor Six. On Page 71 of the book; he described the "shock and awe" of a B-52 strike on his platoon's position. Former Presidential Advisor, Ari Flescher, borrowed those words from Victor Six and the rest, as one would say, is history. David A. Christian gave Ari Flescher his first job in politics as his campaign manager and is photographed in David's book. The original publisher of Victor Six, McGraw Hill, now only publishes magazines and textbooks. I'm the military historian that serinwing mentions in her entry above.````militaryhistorywriter````
 * Dude, relax, the nomination is over with no consensus, therefore it's a keep. I'm not going to renominate it, and the article is much, much better now than before. If you want to understand why it was considered to be a fluff piece, take a look here - --Nobunaga24 00:04, 23 July 2007 (UTC)

Dear Nobunaga24, I'm not your dude (this is what happens when you watch Jeff Spicoli of Fast Times At Ridgemont High for too long) and to compare Captain David A. Christian to the accomplishments and decorations of generals and admirals is like comparing apples to oranges. Militaryhistorywriter 15:38, 23 July 2007 (UTC)militaryhistorywriterMilitaryhistorywriter 15:38, 23 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Dear militaryhistorywriter, use the 4 tildes once--Nobunaga24 03:42, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

Thanks, Militaryhistorywriter 12:27, 24 July 2007 (UTC)militaryhistorywriterMilitaryhistorywriter 12:27, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

External links modified
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Main photo bears incorrect caption; uniform out of regs
The caption below the main photo states "Christian in his Army dress uniform". This is incorrect. First, because that nomenclature is wrong; the US Army doesn't have a "dress uniform". It has a service uniform, and it has "mess dress". What he's depicted wearing is the Class-A Army Service Uniform (ASU) with bow tie (which may be worn after retreat). Second, the US Army has never authorized the wearing of more than one example of the same medal. Christian is depicted wearing no fewer than seven Purple Hearts! No matter how many times a soldier is wounded and awarded the Purple Heart, only one example is ever worn at the same time. He's also wearing two separate Silver Stars and two Bronze Stars. This is absolutely against regulation. If a soldier is awarded multiples of the same medal, they wear one example, with a small bronze oak leaf on the ribbon or medal's suspension ribbon, for each additional award, or a star for five awards. So in order for his uniform to be within regulations, he should be wearing ONE Purple Heart with a star and an oak leaf, ONE Silver Star with an oak leaf, ONE Bronze Star with an oak leaf, etc. Bricology (talk) 09:05, 21 June 2018 (UTC)


 * Agreed. Not sure what the circumstance was for the photo. I changed the caption. MartinezMD (talk) 23:31, 11 December 2021 (UTC)

The above is correct. He was probably asked to hang all of the medals at the same time just for a photo, and that seems fine just to deliver to the viewer the full impact of his service. But yeah, it is against the regs. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.49.27.38 (talk) 16:47, 28 July 2022 (UTC)


 * The picture is, frankly, horrible. I wish we had an official photo or something to use instead. This just looks sloppy...something you'd see in a community theatre production of some sort. Intothatdarkness 23:29, 15 July 2023 (UTC)

"extraordinary heroism" is mentioned 4 times
I'm tempted to remove at least 3 of them. Extraordinary heroism is the only cause to be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross as far as I can tell. Wich itself is mentioned 5 times. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gerdolfo (talk • contribs) 12:54, 13 May 2022 (UTC)

number of oak leaves in purple heart
Hi there an greetings from germany. I'm not quite familiar with your medals and awards, but it's written here and stated on his homepage that he reveived 7 purple heart medals. If I understand the oak leaf cluster system correctly, there should be "Purple Heart with One Silver and one Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters" but on this page it's written "Purple Heart with One Silver and two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters". If I'm right here, please correct it. Best regards. 95.222.124.240 (talk) 21:38, 1 December 2022 (UTC)