David A. Walsh ’48

David A. Walsh ’48 died in Washington, D.C., on December 14, 2012, after a short illness. He was born in 1924 and was in the U.S. Air Force from 1942 into 1945 before coming to Dartmouth. He flew 18 bombing missions in Europe as a radio operator and side gunner before being shot down. He was a POW for 18 months until the war ended and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal and Purple Heart. At Dartmouth David was a member of Zeta Psi and as an English major was mentored by Robert Frost. Upon graduation he joined the American and Foreign Insurance Co. and for more than 20 years traveled the world, including to India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Trinidad and then Haiti and Turkey, where he worked with CARE. In the 1960s and 1970s he worked with USAID in Korea, Vietnam and Senegal. He served his country in peace and war for most of his life. After retiring in 1981 he got a master’s in economics from John Hopkins University and taught courses on writing at Georgetown University and George Washington University. He was predeceased in 1980 by his Australian wife, Cynthia Elizabeth. He is survived by children Christian ’77,Victoria and Alexandra and six grandchildren.