Meet Our Donors

Lt Col David A. Higley

David Higley's family members have served in the United States military since before the Revolutionary War, but he was the first Marine. In 1963, when faced with the draft, David enlisted in the Marine Corps. He overcame a potentially disqualifying physical condition to attend OCS and served as a forward observer and XO of an artillery battery in combat. David went on to become a highly decorated Marine Judge Advocate and respected civilian trial attorney. He attributes his successful Marine Corps career to one of his mentors, Captain James Wesley Ayers. Captain Ayers was killed in Vietnam, but David made it his mission to visit his advisor's gravesite to pay his respects.

David began supporting the Foundation as soon as he learned about the building of the National Museum of the Marine Corps. "As a young boy," says David, "I knew of neighbors who had made the ultimate sacrifice in WWII—sacrifices to protect our freedoms. My legacy gift to the Foundation is, in part, to help ensure that the deeds of Marines who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms won't be forgotten. I hope others who feel the same way will take similar action."