This Veterans Day, Remember a Neighbor Who Served, David B. Stewart

On Veterans Day, we remember the men and women who served our country. Some of their stories are written in history books. Others are preserved in family memories, old photographs, and the gravestones of our local cemeteries.

One of those stories belongs to David B. Stewart, a longtime Lafayette resident, University of California graduate, and World War II veteran who received two Purple Hearts.

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Born August 31, 1921, in Berkeley, David grew up in the East Bay and graduated from University High School in 1939. At UC Berkeley, he played football and rugby, participated in ROTC, and was active in campus organizations. He graduated in 1943 with a degree in history.

While at Cal, David met June Breschini in a freshman English class. Their college romance continued through the war years, and they married on March 17, 1944.

David served in the U.S. Army Infantry in the European Theater during World War II. He was wounded in France and received two Purple Hearts, along with the Bronze Star, in recognition of his wartime service.

For young Americans like David and June, the war interrupted the ordinary hopes and plans of early adulthood. Their generation faced extraordinary challenges, and many carried the effects of their service throughout their lives.

David returned home, and he and June built a life together in Lafayette. He became a respected member of the community, remembered not only for his military service but also for the family and friendships that filled the decades that followed.

His daughter, Lafayette resident Mary McCosker, has helped preserve her family's World War II history, including the story of June's brother, Second Lieutenant Edmund H. Breschini, who died in a military aircraft crash in Newfoundland in February 1945.

David survived the war. Edmund did not. Their stories remind us that military service touched entire families, often in profoundly different ways.

David B. Stewart died on October 1, 2010, at the age of 89.

He is buried at Lafayette Cemetery, where his story is one of hundreds waiting to be remembered.

This year's Wreaths Across America theme, "Remember Me," reminds us that every wreath represents a life, a family, and a story worth telling.

On Saturday, December 19, at noon, the Acalanes Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, VFW Post 8063, and community volunteers will gather at historic Lafayette Cemetery to honor the veterans resting there. The public is warmly invited to join us and help place remembrance wreaths.

To sponsor a wreath or learn more, visit https://www.WreathsAcrossAmerica.org/CA0565.