Note from the author Captain Buck Carlton, U.S. Navy Part 2 will be continued at a later time.
David Morrow has served his country for over 38 years. In that time span, he has completed the time he spent of duty in Iraq in the course of Operation Iraqi Freedom. While in Iraq was when he was a target of the enemy close to Mosul, Iraq. He is still able to recall the moment, but says his most memorable job was in Louisiana during the time that the Guard unit was performing aid work following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
David recalls, “I was assigned to the 1670th Transportation Company and we were deployed to areas that were devastated by hurricane Katrina in the vicinity of Cameron Parrish and Lake Charles. We were working hard to set up distribution centers to distribute food, water and ice, baby formula diapers, etc. The destruction is hard to imagine of the storm. There were cows saved from airboats as well as caskets that were encased within trees and floating in the sea, as well as huge craters in the places where roads used to be. Small towns were completely destroyed. Within one city, the entire bank was destroyed and the bank vault in concrete stood as the one thing that was left standing.
“People would queue on blocks in anticipation of food items like MREs (Meals Ready to Eat] water and Ice. We also distributed supplies for children and infants. One particular day, we were closing the center for distribution and locked up when a couple pulled up on a car that was older. A young couple and their husband stepped out of the car and held the baby. The baby was crying , and they had a serious look of despair. The mother told us that they didn’t have water, food or even clothes or food for the infant. Her tears were streaming down her eyes when she pleaded with us for help.
“In our minds that mission didn’t have any ‘fixed hours’, therefore we went through the gate and began to load their vehicle with food and baby diapers, as well as water or baby formula and everything else we thought would benefit them. The couple was so grateful as was the mom who wept tears of happiness. After the couple left the group of soldiers sat in silence while we attempted to imagine our families in the same situation. Even to this day I still feel emotional when I think about the couple.”
David Lee Morrow was born on July 6, 1967, at Andalusia, Alabama. He was the son of Joe Morrow, Jr. and Sandra Foshee Morrow. Also, they had a daughter named Donna Morrow. David was a student at Red Level School and graduated from Red Level High School in 1986. He was a member of the 781st Transportation Co. [Georgiana, Alabama] of the Alabama Army National Guard in 1985. He also had part-time work for McDonalds in Andalusia as well as in the Judy Bond sewing facility at Red Level.
David completed his basic training in Fort Jackson, S.C. in the year 1986. Following that, he was sent on to join Shaw Industries in Andalusia in 1987. He graduated with his Associates Degree in Business from LBW Community College in 1998. He received an B.A. diploma from Columbia Southern University in Business Administration from Columbia Southern University in the year 2011 and also an advanced diploma in Engineering Management from Western New England University in 2017.
In 1997, David Morrow had attained the rank of Sergeant (E-5In 1997, David Morrow had reached the rank of Sergeant [E-5]. At the time the time he enrolled in Warrant Officer Candidate School and was appointed as Warrant Officer One [WO1] on November 7, 1997. Warrant Officer One [WO1on the 7th of November 1997. He is currently an Warrant Officer Five (WO5)in the ranks of Warrant Officer Five [WO5].
David’s first time activation with his first unit, the 1670th Transportation Company came in February 2003. The group was dispatched for a trip to Fort Benning, Georgia, in preparation for the trip to Iraq. David said, “It was stressful because we knew that we’d take a plane next day for Iraq. We were told to “stand down and wait for July. I was relieved, that I was mentally and physically ready to leave.”
The year 2005 was the first time he began to work at Hyundai Motors, based in Montgomery, Alabama, in the plant’s engineering department. In the fall of 2005, David and his unit were sent to Louisiana to provide humanitarian assistance following Hurricane Katrina. Over the years, he’s been deployed numerous times with his unit, delivering humane aid to communities affected by hurricanes. David expressed his opinion on behalf of himself as well as his fellow guardsmen “We were called upon numerous times to assist in responding to natural disasters like hurricanes. The most common feeling we agreed on was that we fulfilled our duty in helping fellow Americans in times of emergency.”
The fall of 2008 David was assigned into the 158th Support Maintenance Company in Tallassee, Alabama, and transferred to Iraq. The move was not expected by David however, he had been ready since 2003. He recalled the deployment “We were assigned to provide an armed escort for convoys. We also had the responsibility of taking back military vehicles that were damaged or failed to function properly. Our personnel were part of in members of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment [SOAR160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment [SOAR].
“I was assigned as the representative of the Contracting Officer to the Direct Support Maintenance Shop at the base Camp Qayyarah West [Q-West]. Our unit was split in half there, while the other half was assigned went to Mosul. Also, I served as the Unit’s Movement Officer, in charge of logistical operations and in preparation for our move to Iraq and returning to the United States. States…I had a large team of KBR (Kellogg, Brown and Root] workers who employed me and provided vehicle maintenance that was beyond our team’s capabilities.
“During my stay in Iraq I often traveled across Q-West to Mosul. We generally went out at night, and when we left the wire, which is the perimeter of the camp] we were in the danger zone for the entire distance between camps…On one particular trip our vehicle encountered a number of people who had burning fires on the road. When we drove towards a village, our MRAP was subject to small weapons fire. The shooter was hidden within an area of villagers, which meant we couldn’t shoot back (our rules of engagement obliged us to have an exact target that we could confirm].
“We weren’t in any danger from small-arms fire in the MRAP…We had a night at Mosul and, the next day I was woken by a massive explosion that shocked the building. I ran out to observe a cloud of a mushroom of smoke. It was reminiscent of images I’d seen of anatomic bomb exploding…The bomb was hidden inside a truck and caused a massive crater to be left on the ground in near the gate’s main entrance.
Following David Morrow returned from Iraq in November 2009, he was employed as a member of the Alabama Army National Guard fulltime until August of 2016. Then the soldier was employed as the Director for Facilities Management for the State of Alabama Finance Department. He was still with the Alabama Army National Guard. He was in the Army National Guard until February 20, 2023. he was hired as a Project Manager at Russell Construction Company of Montgomery, Alabama. David holds three professional certifications that include: The Certified Energy Manager [CEM] as well as Professional in Project Management Professional [PMP], and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional for Building Design and Construction [LEED AP + C».
David is assigned to a variety of Alabama Army National Guard groups over the time and has been assigned to his 781st Transportation Company in Georgiana, Alabama; the 1670th Transportation Company located in Brantley, Alabama; the 158th Support Maintenance Company in Tallassee, Alabama; the Fort McClellan Training Center located in Anniston and The Joint Forces Headquarters in Montgomery, Alabama; and is currently part of the 167th Theater Sustainment Command in Anniston, Alabama.
David Morrow has earned the Bronze Star, the Army Commendation Medal The National Defense Service Medal, the Army Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Medal as well as the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Alabama Veterans Service Medal, and many more.
David got married to Gwen Walker of Opp, Alabama on August 14 in 1992. He has one daughter called Tiffany Morrow, from an earlier marriage. David Gwen and Gwen are on the farm family of 57 acres (Foshee) where the family was raised within Cohassett, Alabama, in the eastern part of Conecuh County.
John Vick
This author wishes to acknowledge David Morrow for sharing his story. David along with Gwen are participants of the Methodist Church in Andalusia, along with the author and his wife.
The article David L. Morrow, CWO5, Alabama Army National Guard was first published at The Andalusia Star-News.
