Birth date: Jan 18, 1999 Death date: Apr 13, 2024
David Anibal de Reyes, age 25, of Fayetteville, Arkansas, passed away in El Paso, Texas on April 13, 2024. He was born on January 18, 1999, in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to Lorenzo Anibal Reyes and Jacinta Elena Reyes Rojas. David gr Read Obituary
So sorry for your loss…
We are thinking of you and sending love and prayers y’all’s way.
With Love, Verna and JG Metscher
I first met David a little bit after I moved to El Paso. Fort Bliss was my first duty station. When I got to the unit, all of the platoon leader positions were already taken, so I was assigned to shadow and co-lead with David until a spot opened up, so that he would take it and I would replace him. For about three months, I was David’s shadow as he taught me everything he did, showed me the ropes of what it takes to be a platoon leader in the unit. I had no clue what I was doing when I first got there, so I relied on him to help me survive. Being so close to David, I was privileged to see his personality firsthand; how he was friendly yet firm, serious yet hilarious, and above all, a caring leader.
Friendly yet firm. David was a pillar in the battery, one of a (very) few officers that I looked up to in the battalion. Many of the soldiers looked up to him, and felt comfortable coming to him about personal issues they were going through. He was reliable and very well respected by everyone in the unit. While he was friendly, he knew when to get things done, and because he was so respected, soldiers responded and got to work.
He was serious, but hilarious at the right times. The first day that I met him, a soldier came into the office looking for his hat. David made some excuse so the soldier would look somewhere else. Then he asked me to check the freezer, and behold, there was the hat, frozen in all its glory. That was his thing, when people left stuff lying around, he would “keep it safe” in the freezer. Unless it was food, if you left food around, consider it gone because he was definitely going to eat it.
He was a caring leader. One of the most important things I learned by watching him, is how stood up for his soldiers. They admired him for it, as he inspired and motivated them. Whenever there was news he received that seemed unfair for his soldiers, he would stand up to it, in order to protect them. And all of his soldiers knew that there wasn’t anything that he would ask of them that he wasn’t willing to do himself. He truly earned the respect of the soldiers by doing the work, and being with them when the goings got rough. He did the same for me, whenever I was faced with something I couldn’t handle, if he couldn’t show me how or couldn’t guide me through it, he would do it all on his own, even refusing my help because he knew whenever I wasn’t yet ready.
Nearly everything I do now as an officer is due to David’s influence in my life. As a 2nd Lieutenant, one is colloquially called a “butter-bar” due to the gold bar symbol on the rank. However, in the next higher rank of 1st Lieutenant, which David was when I first go there, instead of a gold bar, the rank has a black bar symbol. One day we were eating lunch and I noticed that David’s rank looked a little funny, and I thought it was due to the camouflage pattern behind it. However, much to my surprise, David said that it looked that way because, when he promoted, he didn’t want to buy another rank for his uniform, so he used a Sharpie marker to color his gold bar into a black one. I thought that was the funniest thing, so when it was my turn to promote to 1LT later that year, I followed his example and did the same, nobody noticed so I might get in trouble for mentioning it. I just wish he could’ve seen it.
Due to medical reasons, I wasn’t able to join the unit on deployment. The last time I saw David, was when I drove him to the airport (ADACG) the day he was heading out. I never knew that would be the last time, so it didn’t feel real at first when I heard the news. I’d only found out he’d returned at the same time I found out that he was gone.
I wish I could’ve said goodbye, I wish I didn’t have to, that we’d just go back to having lunch at the USO everyday like we used to, to freezing hats, to hanging out in the office.
Thank you for all you’ve been or me, David. I’m truly a better person for knowing you. I miss you deeply, brother.
-Joshua Omolade
I’m so sorry for your loss! You’re in my thoughts! Love you guys! - Jessica, Bryant, Alexander, and Athena.
David was in my French class at Harber. He was always the first one to arrive. He was kind and respectful. I always knew I could call on him in class, but I tried not to do so too often. He didn’t want to make it obvious that he outshone his classmates. The last time I saw him was a few years ago at Smoothie King. He was his usual patient self as he helped me maneuver the menu. He flashed his precious smile when I commented on how strong he was getting. I am heartbroken over his passing. I pray for all who are grieving this tremendous loss. May you rest in peace, David.🤍
