David, 29, was killed June 7, 1955, in an auto-truck collision just south of Chicago, Illinois. He was born April 14, 1926, in Smithville, Ohio and was a member of the Mennonite faith and the son of Reverend Jesse Smucker. David was drafted into Civilian Public Service in 1944 from Bluffton, Ohio, where was attending Bluffton College. He jumped at McCall during the busy 1945 season and got seven fire jumps in addition to his seven training jumps.